Buddy Review: This Raging Light

Title: This Raging Light

Author: Estelle Laure

Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: December 22, 2015

Source: eARC from Publisher for Review

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Can the best thing happen at the worst time?

Her dad went crazy. Her mom left town. She has bills to pay and a little sister to look after. Now is not the time for level-headed seventeen-year-old Lucille to fall in love. But love—messy, inconvenient love—is what she's about to experience when she falls for Digby Jones, her best friend's brother. With blazing longing that builds to a fever pitch, Estelle Laure's soulful debut will keep readers hooked and hoping until the very last page.

ARC Review: Inherit the Stars

Title: Inherit the Stars
Original Title: Hunger, Heart, Fuel, Nation

Series: Inherit the Stars

Author: Tessa Elwood

Publisher: Running Press Kids

Publication Date: December 8, 2015

Source: Publisher for Review

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Three royal houses ruling three interplanetary systems are on the brink of collapse, and they must either ally together or tear each other apart in order for their people to survive.

Asa is the youngest daughter of the house of Fane, which has been fighting a devastating food and energy crisis for far too long. She thinks she can save her family’s livelihood by posing as her oldest sister in an arranged marriage with Eagle, the heir to the throne of the house of Westlet. The appearance of her mother, a traitor who defected to the house of Galton, adds fuel to the fire, while Asa also tries to save her sister Wren's life . . . possibly from the hands of their own father.

But as Asa and Eagle forge a genuine bond, will secrets from the past and the urgent needs of their people in the present keep them divided?

Book Review: How to Be Brave

Title: How to Be Brave

Author: E. Katherine Kottaras

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Publication Date: November 3, 2015

Source: Finished Copy from St. Martin's Griffin

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An emotional contemporary YA novel about love, loss, and having the courage to chase the life you truly want.

Reeling from her mother's death, Georgia has a choice: become lost in her own pain, or enjoy life right now, while she still can. She decides to start really living for the first time and makes a list of fifteen ways to be brave - all the things she's wanted to do but never had the courage to try. As she begins doing the things she's always been afraid to do - including pursuing her secret crush, she discovers that life doesn't always go according to plan. Sometimes friendships fall apart and love breaks your heart. But once in a while, the right person shows up just when you need them most - and you learn that you're stronger and braver than you ever imagined.

Waiting on Wednesday (47)

Waiting on Wednesday is a bookish meme created and hosted by Jill from Breaking the Spine.

Each week, bloggers shine the spotlight on upcoming book titles that they are waiting on. This is one of my favorite memes, and you've probably noticed it as a frequent feature on my blog.

It's pretty simple to participate in Waiting on Wednesday:

• Create your own Waiting on Wednesday post that features an upcoming title (or titles) - I usually only go with one book a week because seeing all the titles can be a bit overwhelming for me.
• Be sure to credit Jill somewhere in your post (see how I credited her above?)
• Link up to the Linky on Jill's blog so that others can see your post.

ARC Review: Last Year's Mistake

Title: Last Year's Mistake 

Author: Gina Ciocca

 Publisher: Simon Pulse

Publication Date: June 9, 2015
Source: ARC from Simon Pulse

Goodreads | Amazon
 

Before:
Kelsey and David became best friends the summer before freshman year and were inseparable ever after. Until the night a misunderstanding turned Kelsey into the school joke, and everything around her crumbled—including her friendship with David. So when Kelsey's parents decided to move away, she couldn't wait to start over and leave the past behind. Except, David wasn't ready to let her go...

After:
Now it's senior year and Kelsey has a new group of friends, genuine popularity, and a hot boyfriend. Her life is perfect. That is, until David's family moves to town and he shakes up everything. Soon old feelings bubble to the surface and threaten to destroy Kelsey's second chance at happiness. The more time she spends with David, the more she realizes she never truly let him go. And maybe she never wants to.

Told in alternating sections, LAST YEAR'S MISTAKE is a charming and romantic debut about loving, leaving, and letting go.

ARC Review: Immaculate & Author Interview

Title: Immaculate

Author: Katelyn Detweiler

Publisher: Viking

Publication Date: May 26, 2015

Source: ARC Provided by Viking

Goodreads | Amazon

“Even if everyone thought I was lying, why couldn’t they just leave me alone? I hadn’t asked for any of them to believe me. I hadn’t asked for them to worship me.

I hadn’t asked them for anything.”

Mina is top of her class, girlfriend to the most ambitious guy in school, able to reason and study her way through anything. But when she finds herself pregnant—despite having never had sex—her orderly world collapses. Almost nobody believes Mina’s claims of virginity. Her father assumes that her boyfriend is responsible; her boyfriend thinks she must have cheated on him. As news of Mina’s story spreads, there are those who brand her a liar. There are those who brand her a heretic. And there are those who believe that miracles are possible—and that Mina’s unborn child could be the greatest miracle of all.

My Review

When I first came across Immaculate, I made up my mind that it would probably be a book that I would borrow from the library. I'm not a huge fan of books with religious themes, so it seemed like a good idea to save some money rather than buy it and risk not enjoying it. However, Viking/Penguin contacted me for a review, and I gladly accepted. And I am so glad that I did because it's a rather interesting and unique book that covers a lot of genres - contemporary, retellings, religious fiction, and even a bit of realistic fantasy.

Like I said earlier, I'm not really a fan of religious fiction or books that are heavy on it. I don't really know what it is, but I think it dates back to the time when my mom told me that the Catholic priest from our church didn't want to baptize me because I was born out of wedlock. But, I still do give some religious books a fan because I like to read from all genres.

Immaculate by Katelyn Detweiler is a beautiful book that wasn't too pushy when it came to religion and religious aspects, even though it is a biblical retelling. I found myself enjoying Ms. Detweiler's writing, and I loved that she even included a few references to the Bible and other religious texts in the book. It made understanding the history behind Mina's story a bit easier for me. (Because if I'm being honest, I don't know absolutely everything about the birth of Jesus - just the basics.) The brief inclusion of the religious aspects also makes the book feel more graspable than I thought it would be, and I felt like Detweiler was reaching out to readers who aren't Christians.

The characters in the book were realistically flawed, despite this being a book that seems unrealistic. I loved getting to know Mina and her friends, and I loved the fact that Detweiler's characters of choice were the smart, popular kids. I feel like sometimes smart kids get put on the back burner in YA, she she brings them to the front. Mina's characterization was done very well. She is this tough, little thing who is the Mary of the story, and her strength only grew throughout the novel. Her best friends, Hannah and Izzy, are different than Mina but still similar. Together, this trio was well-balanced. There are struggles with their friendship, but I loved how Detweiler characterized them and used them within the plot. It felt like a real friendship. Jesse is also a wonderful character. He's very likeable, but he's so helpful. Together, Mina is definitely covered in the friends department.

I did feel like the ending was a bit rushed and that we lacked a little bit of an explanation, so I more or less think this book is a 3.5 star rating for me. But... now that I know something (check the interview!), I'm looking forward to seeing the reasons behind Mina's pregnancy.

If you're looking for a unique book this summer, definitely grab a copy of Immaculate. It really surprised me, and I'm sure that it will surprise other readers and just make them feel good about life. There might be a lot of bad in the world, but this book teaches readers that there is always a little bit of hope.

An Interview with Katelyn Detweiler

1. You’re an agent. How does it feel to be on the other side of the door and have a book out?

Surreal. Still very surreal. Going in, I thought I’d be more mentally prepared for each step of the journey, but there was so much I couldn’t know—not really, not until I was going through it all for myself. In some ways, I’ve maybe been a bit calmer than I would have thought—probably because I have mostly realistic expectations, I know the process, I know more or less what’s coming up through the long (very long) journey.  But at the end of the day, this book is still my baby, and I’d be a bad mom if I wasn’t biting my nails with anxiety sometimes, too.

2. Upon first look, the book appears to have a bit in common with the hit TV show Jane the Virgin. Have you seen the show? If so, are you a fan?

YES. I was planning on watching just a few episodes—“homework,” I called it, to justify the extra TV time—to see how similar it really was. I was hooked immediately, and binge-watched. After the first episode, it was clear that IMMACULATE took the idea of a “pregnant virgin” on a very different path, but it was still so fascinating to see how it played out. I absolutely adore the show—the great acting, the hilariously over-the-top and totally refreshing drama—and am so pained by the fact that I’ll have to wait another few months for a new episode. Hooray for a second season!

3. I see the book is set in Pennsylvania and that you grew up in that state. (I did too!) What part of PA are you from? Will readers familiar with PA be able to recognize some places and towns?
   Hello, my fellow PA native! : ) I’m from a small town about an hour northwest of Philly. Suburban in some stretches, rural in others. My house was in the more rural area of town, an old farmhouse with fields and woods on every side of it, rather than actual neighbors. Green Hill is very much a reflection of my childhood there, all the best and the worst bits about growing up in a small town.

4. How did you come up with the idea to write this book?
   The idea had been buried in me for a long time—ever since, as a teenager, I’d asked my mom if she would have believed me if I claimed to be a pregnant virgin. She thought about it for a few seconds maybe, and then she said yes. I filed it away at the time, laughing probably and moving on to my next obnoxious hypothetical question (they’re my absolute favorite form of entertainment). But a few years ago, it very suddenly and mysteriously came back to me. I started wondering what people would really say if someone were to make this claim—and stand behind it, no matter what the consequences—in our world today. I was amazed, given all the other re-tellings and twists out on the market now—fairytales, myths, Shakespeare, Austen—that this old story hadn’t been touched yet, at least not for teens. From there, I couldn’t not write it. It felt meant to be, a story that just had to be retold.

5. Why is one thing that you admire about Mina?
   Her ability to shift the way she defines “success.” At the beginning of the story, it’s all about grades, straight A’s, a 100% at the top of every exam or essay. It’s about getting into the dream college, always working toward the dream career. And it’s also about walking down the halls with her perfect, athletic, brainy, handsome boyfriend, the clear marker that she’s made it socially as well as academically. Mina had a shiny reputation. She had shiny goals. With the discovery of her pregnancy, everything instantly changes. She has to find a different way to value her life; she has to accept that happiness isn’t the same as achieving perfection. Real life isn’t perfect. Happiness isn’t a grade—it’s trying your best, and being proud of the struggle.

6. Do you have anything in common with Mina or any of the other characters in the book?
   I poured a lot of my own life into Mina, mostly because I was so curious thinking about how the people in my life would have responded to me if I’d made this claim at seventeen. I was the valedictorian of my class, hyper-focused on getting straight A’s, constantly thinking about getting into the best college, having the best career. I was on a very rigidly set path, a path that didn’t leave much room for any unexpected variables—variables like… becoming a pregnant virgin, for example.

7. The book is broken up into sections based on Mina’s life and pregnancy. Did you set out to write it that way or did it just feel like the right way as you were drafting and writing?

This was more or less in place from the very beginning. I wanted to make sure that I was giving equal weight to the challenges that would come up in the different stages of pregnancy, and then reflect how those challenges played out in Mina’s life, both with herself, and with the people around her—spreading from her family and friends to the town, the country, the world. I wanted to make sure I didn’t brush past any key moments a new mom would be facing. And I worked hard to be accurate about this part of the novel—I read a lot of pregnancy books / articles / websites to prep for it. What to Expect When Your Expecting was front and center on my desk for months.

8. Readers are often drawn to books based on similar titles or themes. Are there any books that you think readers of Immaculate would like or vice versa?
   Yes, absolutely. I love similar books with hypothetical twists—contemporary novels with that added “what if” perspective to play around with the concept of our everyday realities. Books that are all still very grounded in a world that we can understand, even if the impossible vs. the possible have dramatically shifted. David Levithan’s EVERYDAY, Gayle Foreman’s IF I STAY, and Lauren Oliver’s BEFORE I FALL all immediately come to mind.
   
   
9. Who are some of your favorite authors? Did their books inspire this story in any way?
   I’d say the above list all certainly make the cut. I love contemporary and I love fantasy, and I really love the stories where elements from both of those worlds meet.  Oh, and J.K. Rowling. Always J.K. Rowling.

10. We all have to read books in school. What was your favorite school read?
    The Scarlet Letter, maybe? Which, now that I think about it, probably explains where some of the ideas for IMMACULATE first began…

11. Do you have any plans for future books? (Don’t worry… I won’t make you spill any details about them.)

I do! I can’t say too much yet, but there will be a follow-up novel coming out next year. It’s the story of what happens seventeen years after IMMACULATE ends, when Mina’s baby is now a teenager, discovering the truth of his/her past, and what it means for the present (and future). There’s been a massive tragedy that the world is still reeling from; it definitely goes a bit deeper and darker in this second book, but it is still very much grounded in the big questions that drive IMMACULATE.

About Katelyn Detweiler

Katelyn Detweiler was born and raised in Pennsylvania—in a small town much like Mina’s—living in a centuries-old farmhouse surrounded by fields and woods. After graduating from Penn State University, she made the move to New York City, where she is a literary agent representing books for all ages and across all genres. Katelyn currently lives, agents, and writes in Brooklyn. 

 

ARC Review: A Tale of Two Besties

Title: A Tale of Two Besties

Author: Sophia Rossi

Publisher: Razorbill

Publication Date: May 12, 2015

Source: Unsolicited ARC from Penguin

Goodreads | Amazon

“If there’s one thing Sophia Rossi understands completely–it’s besties. Only an ultimate BFF like Sophia could create the super-special bond that Harper and Lily have in A TALE OF TWO BESTIES .” —Lauren Conrad

“Plumbing the depths of friendship and cliques, this debut novel will speak to fans of Rossi’s popular website, HelloGiggles, as well as all girls trying to discover their own identity while learning what it means to really be friends.” — Booklist

*Featuring a foreword by 'New Girl' star Zooey Deschanel*

Perfect for fans of Kody Keplinger's  The DUFF  by and Morgan Matson's  Since You've Been Gone,  the delightfully funny debut novel A TALE OF TWO BESTIES is full of giggles and surprises.   

Best friends. BFFs. Soul twinsies. Whatever you want to call them, Harper and Lily were born to be besties. With high school just around the corner, casual-cool Cali girl Harper and awkward, always-costumed Lily make sure to text each other every day about their bond:

Harper: I love you so much that I am going to sneak out of detention to pay that guy from Craigslist $100 to cut off all your hair for my secret collection.
Lily: I love you so much I’m going destroy everyone in your life that matters and force you to depend and love only me.
Harper: That sounds beautiful. I love you.

Not even the threat of different high schools could throw this BFFship off-course, even if Lily begs her parents not to send her to the “dreaded Pathways," a special school for creative types, while effortlessly-popular Harper attends Beverly High with the rest of their class.

But in a city where fitting in means standing out and there’s nothing more uncool than being cool, it’s the naturally charismatic Harper--with her blond hair and perfect bone structure--who finds herself fighting the tide of American Apparel’d teens who rule the school. Meanwhile, it’s the perpetually “gawkward” Lily--who accessories every ensemble with a pair of tattered fairy wings--who finds herself flying alongside the queen bees of Pathways. Can BFF-ship survive the tidal wave of HS drama, or does growing up mean leaving some friends behind?

“It's like my twins stepped out of the eighties and dropped down into today. Deliciously funny with heart.” – Francine Pascal, bestselling author and creator of the Sweet Valley High series

My Review

They were the best of friends, they were the worst of friends. "It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness." (Come on... it called for it!) But I didn't care enough about besties Harper and Lily and their coming-of-age story to see this book through to the end and get a resolution. 

So... what exactly went wrong with this book for me? If you are my friend or follow me on Goodreads, you would have seen a positive status update about how cute I thought the book was in the beginning. The girls were a great pair and funny, and I was loving their friendship. Unfortunately, it went way downhill from there. I had to call it quits on this debut novel by Sophia Rossi at 59% because it was annoying and a tad too immature. Also, some of the language made infuriated me.

What could possibly be wrong with the language, you say? Well for starters, it's full of a lot of Internet lingo. Okay... not necessarily the worst thing in the world, especially in a YA because kids do speak like that in real life. I kind of expected that, but it's a bit overdone. But then it gets offensive with some body shaming and slut shaming. Say what? Like really? I was not expecting that, but in Harper's narrative, she shames a girl for hanging on a guy like a "slutty poncho." I kid you not. There are also lines about the same girls "impressive thigh gap" that come off as sarcastic and rude. Yeah... not my cup of tea.

The two main characters, Harper and Lily, are the most basic girls I've ever come across in YA literature, and it's funny because they make fun of basic girls throughout their narratives. Yes, they live in Los Angeles, California, but that doesn't mean they have to be airheads about a lot of things. Both lose their sense of self so early on in the book, and it becomes cringe-worthy watching these two feed on all the drama in their freshman year of school. Harper lies one night to fit in while Lily's naïveté causes her to befriend the cliché mean girl and transform her into someone who she's really not. It's been done before.

I couldn't deal with the immaturity and the "problems" that these two privileged girls had in the book. Some of the problems were real, like feeling lost when your best friend is no longer a physical presence in your every day life, but some of them were brought on by incredibly foolish behavior that they know is wrong. 

It definitely felt a little young and immature for YA if you ask me. I'm sure younger readers (ones moving from Middle Grade to YA) will eat this up and really enjoy it, especially if they like reading about drama-ridden lives. But if you aren't a fan of drama filled books, steer clear of this one.

Book Review: All the Bright Places

Title: All the Bright Places

Author: Jennifer Niven

Publisher: Knopf

Publication Date: January 6, 2015

Source: Purchased

Goodreads | Amazon 

The Fault in Our Stars meets Eleanor and Park in this exhilarating and heart-wrenching love story about a girl who learns to live from a boy who intends to die.
Soon to be a major motion picture starring Elle Fanning!
 
Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.

Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death.

When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.

This is an intense, gripping novel perfect for fans of Jay Asher, Rainbow Rowell, John Green, Gayle Forman, and Jenny Downham from a talented new voice in YA, Jennifer Niven.

My Review

I should start off my review by stating that All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven did not make me cry like so many of the readers of this book, but I did get a little emotional. But only a tiny bit, which is shocking because I am a very emotional person. (If you're wondering what made me cry... I'll tell you... It wasn't the Violet/Finch stuff, but the Eleanor and Violet flashbacks.)

I expected all of the sad events that occur in this book to happen when I started reading it, and the strong foreshadowing confirmed my predictions. I guess it just left me with very little room to be sad because I knew what was coming. I had time to be sad while reading and to come to terms with the ending before I even got there. I couldn't really think after I finished reading, and I had a hard time analyzing everything about the book.

Nonetheless, Niven's novel is one that I was kind of unsure about after I closed the final page. I didn't know if I liked it or if it was just another book that I read without really feeling anything for any of the characters or plot or really anything. I was just lost, dazed, and confused. After sleeping it off, I decided that I liked the book. It's a different kind of book in the depression and suicide canon of books, and I'm glad that I was finally able to get to the book.

At times, I was bored with the writing. It's not that the book is wordy or poorly written because it's not; the prose just got on my nerves because sometimes it's catchy, and other times it's a bit boring. It just left me dumbfounded because both Finch and Violet of supposed to be fans of words and how they can be arranged in writing and speech. Sometimes, I felt like the word choices could have been a lot better to really make it a beautifully outstanding piece of writing.

Unfortunately, the characters didn't really stand out to me like I thought they would, but I still liked them. I feel like I'll remember them for a while, but soon, they will just be distant memories that I will have to revisit. Finch threw me off guard because he's just so out there. Sometimes I loved him, and other times, I hated him. At times, I thought he was pompous, especially when he and Violet first meet, but then I grew to like him and then dislike him and then like him again. It was like an endless cycle of figuring him out, but I was okay with that because it's truly representative of his depression. I was conflicted about how I felt about him, and I still am. On the other hand, I had a better connection to Violet. Her back story was better explained, and I really felt her sadness and I understood it. Therefore, I was able to get inside of her head a little better and really get to know her.

I'm thinking the only thing that really left me hanging about this book is that I really wanted to know more about Violet's sister, Eleanor. It's just plain old human curiosity to wander, and I wanted to know everything about this situation. Eleanor a huge reason as to why Violet is the why she is. Besides... I'm just such a sucker for stories about sisters and would have loved to have seen more about her included.

So did I like this book? Yes. I really did, but it just wasn't a spectacular read for me. Will I read other YA titles from Niven if she writes them? Absolutely. This one was good, and I hope that one day one of hers will be great for me. I'm glad that Niven was able to tell a story like this (apparently very similar to one that she went through) because the world really needs it. You never know when someone is suffering, and she does a great job at showing how depression and other mental health problems are invisible illnesses. 

All the Bright Places is Jennifer Niven's first book for young adult readers, but she has written four novels for adults - American Blonde, Becoming Clementine, Velva Jean Learns to Fly, and Velva Jean Learns to Drive - as well as three nonfiction books, The Ice Masters, Ada Blackjack, and The Aqua Net Diaries, a memoir about her high school experiences.

Although she grew up in Indiana, she now lives with her fiance and literary cats in Los Angeles, which remains her favorite place to wander.

 

ARC Review: Everything That Makes You

Title: Everything That Makes You

Author: Moriah McStay

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Publication Date: March 17, 2015

Source: Giveaway Win from Danielle

Rating: ☆☆

Add it to Goodreads | Purchase from Amazon

One girl. Two stories. 

Meet Fiona Doyle. The thick ridges of scar tissue on her face are from an accident twelve years ago. Fiona has notebooks full of songs she’s written about her frustrations, her dreams, and about her massive crush on beautiful uber-jock Trent McKinnon. If she can’t even find the courage to look Trent straight in his beautiful blue eyes, she sure isn’t brave enough to play or sing any of her songs in public. But something’s changing in Fiona. She can’t be defined by her scars anymore.

And what if there hadn’t been an accident? Meet Fi Doyle. Fi is the top-rated female high school lacrosse player in the state, heading straight to Northwestern on a full ride. She’s got more important things to deal with than her best friend Trent McKinnon, who’s been different ever since the kiss. When her luck goes south, even lacrosse can’t define her anymore. When you’ve always been the best at something, one dumb move can screw everything up. Can Fi fight back?

Hasn’t everyone wondered what if? In this daring debut novel, Moriah McStay gives us the rare opportunity to see what might have happened if things were different. Maybe luck determines our paths. But maybe it’s who we are that determines our luck.

ARC Review: My Best Everything

Title: My Best Everything

Author: Sarah Tomp

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: March 3, 2015

Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Rating: ☆☆☆

Add it to Goodreads | Purchase from Amazon

You say it was all meant to be. You and me. The way we met. Our secrets in the woods. Even the way it all exploded. It was simply a matter of fate.

Maybe if you were here to tell me again, to explain it one more time, then maybe I wouldn’t feel so uncertain. But I’m going back to the beginning on my own. To see what happened and why.

Luisa “Lulu” Mendez has just finished her final year of high school in a small Virginia town, determined to move on and leave her job at the local junkyard behind. So when her father loses her college tuition money, Lulu needs a new ticket out.

Desperate for funds, she cooks up the (definitely illegal) plan to make and sell moonshine with her friends, Roni and Bucky. Quickly realizing they’re out of their depth, Lulu turns to Mason: a local boy who’s always seemed like a dead end. As Mason guides Lulu through the secret world of moonshine, it looks like her plan might actually work. But can she leave town before she loses everything – including her heart?

The summer walks the line between toxic and intoxicating. My Best Everything is Lulu’s letter to Mason – though is it an apology, a good-bye, or a love letter?

My Review

My Best Everything by Sarah Tomp is as sweet as molasses when it comes to the plot and friendships, but I felt like it lacked that little extra kick to make it a little more buzz-worthy and really make it a superb book for me. While the book is not as great as I was expecting, it's a wonderful debut novel that will leave readers wanting more from Ms. Tomp. It's one of those books that you'll want to read on vacation or at the beach.

While reading, I was concerned about how people from the South will see the book, but I'm not from the South, so I can't really speak for some of the traditions and culture included.

I really liked a lot of the characters in this novel. Lulu is the goody goody and smart girl who just wants to get away from the small town where she was born and raised. On her journey out of town, she faces many challenges that will test her faith and reputation. Lulu's best friend, Roni, is content with the small town life until something huge is thrown at her, and I really like how she handled it. The girls are accompanied by their significant others - Bucky for Roni and Mason for Lulu. I didn't care too much for Bucky, but I found that he redeemed himself a bit at the end of the book. Mason was a good match personality wise for Lulu, but I thought he was a bit too old for her. The rest of the characters, including rival shiners and junkyard employees help to round out this southern tale.

My Best Everything is written unlike any other book I've ever read because it's written like a first person narrative, but also like a giant love letter. I thought the narrative was cute and unique, but sometimes it bothered me because the narrator Lulu is basically rehashing everything that happened over the summer to her boyfriend who experienced most of it with her. I also found that there were a lot of moonshine metaphors. I expected some of them, but by the end of the book, it got a little repetitive.

The professionals at NetGalley recommended this novel for fans of Rainbow Rowell, but I think fans of Sarah Dessen will like this one a little more because there's a little bit of romance and it's balanced out with some intense issues. Personally, I would recommend this one for older teens (and adults who like YA) because it is a bit more mature than a lot of the YA books on the market.

Blog Tour and Review: Biggie

Title: Biggie
Author: Derek E. Sullivan
Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company
Publication Date: March 1, 2015
Source: eARC from Publisher via NetGalley and Xpresso Book Tours
Rating: ☆☆☆

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 Purchase from Barnes & Noble

Henry "Biggie" Abbott is the son of one of Finch, Iowa 's most famous athletes. His father was a baseball legend and his step-dad is a close second. 

At an obese 300+ pounds though, Biggie himself prefers classroom success to sports. As a perfectionist, he doesn't understand why someone would be happy getting two hits in five trips to the plate. "Forty percent, that's an F in any class," he would say. 

As Biggie's junior year begins, the girl of his dreams, Annabelle Rivers, starts to flirt with him. Hundreds of people have told him to follow in his dad's footsteps and play ball, but Annabelle might be the one to actually convince him to try. What happens when a boy who has spent his life since fourth grade trying to remain invisible is suddenly thrust into the harsh glare of the high school spotlight?

My Review

Biggie by Derek E. Sullivan is a very respectable debut novel about an overweight teenage boy name Henry. Unfortunately for Henry, his size has made his peers call him Biggie, so that's what everyone calls him. In my opinion Sullivan does a good job at capturing the emotional aspect of what it's like to be overweight/obese as a teenager. (I was overweight as a teenager, and it's no picnic.) The book isn't as emotional as I thought it would be but instead, it has a lighthearted humor that captures readers. It's definitely worth a read, especially if you are looking for a book told from the male perspective.

The main character, Biggie (Henry) is definitely an odd character. While reading, I had to shake my head a lot just because of how strange Biggie is. Don't get me wrong... he's interesting and unique, but if he were at my school, I probably wouldn't be friends with him because he's a little freaky. As with all weird kids, there is a story to Biggie that explains some of his odd habits, and eventually, he becomes understandable. I did grow to like him a lot more as the book progressed, and by the end of the book, I probably would have been Biggie's friend. It's all about getting to know a person, right? Well it's all about getting to know Biggie in the case of this book. 

The other characters in the book are basically your typical high school kids. Biggie finds himself becoming friends with the jocks, so you get to see what he thinks of them and their popular friends. Even though Biggie is quiet and doesn't talk much to his peers, you'll see him break through his shell and eventually form friendships with these characters. They are Killer, Jet, Kyle, Annabelle, and a few college girls. While reading, you'll meet and learn a little about Biggie's mom, but you will get to know his stepfather and half-brother a little better.

There is one moment, at the end of the book, that made me want to go in and slap a character. I don't want to spoil anyone, but it's just so heartbreaking and sad for Biggie. That one moment really made me think about the emotional aspect of broken families. Sullivan earned all of my respect for including such a sad, but real and truthful moment.

Biggie is an enjoyable read. There were a few times that I questioned some of the medical aspects of the book, especially when Biggie says that he "beat diabetes," but if you look past that and focus on the baseball driven and coming of age plot, it's pretty darn good. The novel is a fresh story in contemporary YA, and I am looking forward to more books from Sullivan in the future.

About Derek E. Sullivan

Derek E. Sullivan is an award-winning reporter and columnist at the Rochester Post-Bulletin in Minnesota. As a reporter, he has written more than 1,000 stories about the lives of teenagers, which he attributes to helping him find his YA voice. He has an MFA from Hamline University. He lives in Minnesota with his wife and three sons.

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ARC Review: The Tragic Age

Title: The Tragic Age: A Novel
Author: Stephen Matcalfe
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Publication Date: March 3, 2015
Source: ARC from publisher via Goodreads First Reads giveaway program
Rating: ☆☆

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This is the story of Billy Kinsey, heir to a lottery fortune, part genius, part philosopher and social critic, full time insomniac and closeted rock drummer. Billy has decided that the best way to deal with an absurd world is to stay away from it. Do not volunteer. Do not join in. Billy will be the first to tell you it doesn’t always work— not when your twin sister, Dorie, has died, not when your unhappy parents are at war with one another, not when frazzled soccer moms in two ton SUVs are more dangerous than atom bombs, and not when your guidance counselor keeps asking why you haven’t applied to college.
　
Billy’s life changes when two people enter his life. Twom Twomey is a charismatic renegade who believes that truly living means going a little outlaw. Twom and Billy become one another’s mutual benefactor and friend. At the same time, Billy is reintroduced to Gretchen Quinn, an old and adored friend of Dorie’s. It is Gretchen who suggests to Billy that the world can be transformed by　creative acts of the soul.　

With Twom, Billy visits the dark side. And with Gretchen, Billy experiences possibilities.Billy knows that one path is leading him toward disaster and the other toward happiness. The problem is—Billy doesn’t trust happiness. It's the age he's at.  The tragic age. 

Stephen Metcalfe's brilliant, debut coming-of-age novel, The Tragic Age, will teach you to learn to love, trust and truly be alive in an absurd world.

ARC Review: When Reason Breaks

Title: When Reason Breaks

Author: Cindy L. Rodriguez

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens

Publication Date: February 10, 2015

Source: eARC from Bloomsbury

Rating: ☆☆☆

13 Reasons Why meets the poetry of Emily Dickinson in this gripping debut novel perfect for fans of Sara Zarr or Jennifer Brown.

A Goth girl with an attitude problem, Elizabeth Davis must learn to control her anger before it destroys her. Emily Delgado appears to be a smart, sweet girl, with a normal life, but as depression clutches at her, she struggles to feel normal. Both girls are in Ms. Diaz’s English class, where they connect to the words of Emily Dickinson. Both are hovering on the edge of an emotional precipice. One of them will attempt suicide. And with Dickinson’s poetry as their guide, both girls must conquer their personal demons to ever be happy.

In an emotionally taut novel with a richly diverse cast of characters, readers will relish in the poetry of Emily Dickinson and be completely swept up in the turmoil of two girls grappling with demons beyond their control.

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My Review

When Reason Breaks by Cindy L. Rodriguez is an ambitious YA novel with a very intriguing concept. As an English teacher and lover of literature, I was immediately drawn to this book at the mention of Emily Dickinson. Then I made the E.D. connection. Two girls - Emily Delgado and Elizabeth Davis - share their initials with Emily Dickinson. Cool, right? Of course it's cool!

I enjoyed this book, but I didn't love this book. I loved the concept, but I felt like there was too much going on for it to be a complete, graspable book. In a way, it makes sense for Rodriguez to do that because Emily Dickinson had quite an interesting and complicated life, but it makes for a very complicated and intricate book. There was one thing that happened in this book that created grief and aggravation for me; Rodriguez spoils her audience at the beginning of the book! She doesn't completely spoil it, but for readers like me, who read in between the lines, the one detail that is given away at the beginning of the book makes it so much easier to figure out what really happens.

I was expecting a little more character development from Rodriguez. In the beginning of the book, I confused Emily and Elizabeth a lot. Differentiating the two becomes easier as the book moves along, but it is annoying to confuse characters. I liked how Emily Delgado was characterized, but boy... I had problems with Elizabeth Davis. From the synopsis, I was expecting someone a little more rough around the edges, but she didn't really appear that way to me. I kind of thought of her anger as fluff instead of real anger. I really thought there would be more to her than what Rodriguez includes.

That being said, there are many great things about this novel, and I applaud Rodriguez for its creation. First of all, there are so many diverse characters in this book. Rodriguez includes Latino characters and culture in this book, which is something I've yet to come across in the YA books I've read. Secondly, I love the integration of Emily Dickinson's poetry. Emily Dickinson is an important piece of American history, and seeing how lines from her poems relate to the plot is awe-inspiring. I can only hope that teens will be more likely to go to the library and read Dickinson's poems after reading this book.

Overall, When Reason Breaks is an enjoyable read, especially if you are a fan of Emily Dickinson or retellings. There are some minor flaws, but there are also some really great moments that overshadow most of the flaws. I hope that readers will take something away from those great moments.

Cindy L. Rodriguez is a former newspaper reporter turned public school teacher. She now teaches as a reading specialist at a Connecticut middle school but previously worked for the Hartford Courant and the Boston Globe. She and her young daughter live in Connecticut. When Reason Breaks is her debut novel. For more author information, click here.