Tumble & Fall, by Alexandra Coutts

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A novel about the end of days full of surprising beginnings

The world is living in the shadow of oncoming disaster. An asteroid is set to strike the earth in just one week’s time; catastrophe is unavoidable. The question isn’t how to save the world—the question is, what to do with the time that's left? Against this stark backdrop, three island teens wrestle with intertwining stories of love, friendship and family—all with the ultimate stakes at hand.

Alexandra Coutts's Tumble & Fall is a powerful story of courage, love, and hope at the end of the world.




Let's just look at the cover for a moment, shall we?  It's gorgeous!  I love the font, the cover models, and the bokeh lights.

Sadly, that's the best part of the book.  Awesome premise.  Poor execution.  What kind of father hires a prostitute for his son?  Disgusting.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Fangirl, by Rainbow Rowell

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In Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl, Cath is a Simon Snow fan. Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan, but for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister Wren ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from the fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fanfiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t I stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?




I couldn't do it.  I couldn't rush through this book, even though I wanted to devour it the moment I received it (many, many, MANY thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press).  Eleanor & Park is one of my favorite books, and I knew that I was going to love Fangirl just as much.

And I was right.

Rainbow Rowell writes the most amazing characters!  They are so real and perfectly flawed.  Cath isn't the prettiest freshman and Levi isn't the hottest guy on campus, but they are beautiful together.

I am going to purchase both the ebook and hardback copies for my shelves.  And probably the audiobook version.  Okay, definitely the audiobook version. 

Maybe I'll start my own little shrine to Rainbow Rowell in my home library.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Ten Tiny Breaths (Ten Tiny Breaths #1), by K.A. Tucker

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Kacey Cleary’s whole life imploded four years ago in a drunk-driving accident. Now she’s working hard to bury the pieces left behind—all but one. Her little sister, Livie. Kacey can swallow the constant disapproval from her born-again aunt Darla over her self-destructive lifestyle; she can stop herself from going kick-boxer crazy on Uncle Raymond when he loses the girls’ college funds at a blackjack table. She just needs to keep it together until Livie is no longer a minor, and then they can get the hell out of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

But when Uncle Raymond slides into bed next to Livie one night, Kacey decides it’s time to run. Armed with two bus tickets and dreams of living near the coast, Kacey and Livie start their new lives in a Miami apartment complex, complete with a grumpy landlord, a pervert upstairs, and a neighbor with a stage name perfectly matched to her chosen “profession.” But Kacey’s not worried. She can handle all of them. What she can’t handle is Trent Emerson in apartment 1D.

Kacey doesn’t want to feel. She doesn’t. It’s safer that way. For everyone. But sexy Trent finds a way into her numb heart, reigniting her ability to love again. She starts to believe that maybe she can leave the past where it belongs and start over. Maybe she’s not beyond repair.

But Kacey isn’t the only one who’s broken. Seemingly perfect Trent has an unforgivable past of his own; one that, when discovered, will shatter Kacey’s newly constructed life and send her back into suffocating darkness.




This was a good book and a good start to a new series.  I don't normally read series until they're complete, but I loved this cover and the description, so I plunged in.  And I liked it.  Unfortunately, I don't like it enough to continue with the next book.

There isn't a whole lot to distinguish Ten Tiny Breaths from other New Adult books: stereotypical characters; tragic pasts; and insta-love.

The writing is good and it's a quick read, but it's very cookie-cutter.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Twigs, by Alison Ashley Formento

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One pint-sized girl. Ten super-sized crises. And it’s high noon.

They call her “Twigs,” because she’ll never hit five feet tall. Although she was born early, and a stiff breeze could knock her over, Twigs has a mighty spirit. She needs it, as life throws a whole bucket of rotten luck at her: Dad’s an absentee drunk; Mom’s obsessed with her new deaf boyfriend (and Twigs can’t tell what they’re saying to each other). Little sister Marlee is trying to date her way through the entire high school; Twigs’ true love may be a long-distance loser after a single week away at college, and suddenly, older brother Matt is missing in Iraq. It all comes together when a couple of thugs in a drugstore aisle lash out, and Twigs must fight to save the life of the father who denied her.




I seem to be in a NetGalley funk this past week.  I've read some real gems and some real...not gems.  And by "read," I mean "no way could I finish this book."

I really wanted to like this book, but there was SO. MUCH. GOING. ON. that it was hard to keep track of everything.  Really, how much melodrama does one person attract?

This is the review that most resembles what I would write if I wanted to spend more time on this book.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Eloise, by Judy Finnigan

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Yesterday I almost saw her.

I was standing on the sun deck, looking out to sea, revelling in the unexpected warmth of the February sun. A butterfly trembled on a nearby buddleia and suddenly I smelled her perfume.

She wasn't there, of course. How could she be when I had seen her lying in her coffin just two weeks ago, the day before she was buried, her casket surrounded by the scented candles she loved?

She lay in Cornish ground now...

She was a daughter, a wife, a mother. She was a friend. But what secrets did Eloise take to her grave? Compulsively-readable and haunting, this is the Sunday Times bestselling debut novel from Book Club champion, Judy Finnigan.




I just couldn't finish this book; I was annoyed almost right off the bat.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Screwed, by Laurie Plissner

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Flattered by the attentions of Nick, the cutest guy in school, seventeen-year-old Grace Warren, captain of the math team, lets down her guard and gets pregnant the night she loses her virginity. Hopeful that Nick will drop to one knee and propose when she breaks the baby news to him, Grace is heartbroken--Nick wants nothing to do with her.

Her best friend, Jennifer, thinks she should get an abortion, but Grace is certain that her morally upright parents will insist that she keep the baby. After she comes clean to her super-religious, strait-laced parents, they surprise her by insisting that she terminate the pregnancy to avoid humiliating the family.

But when she sees the fetus on the ultrasound, she decides she can't get rid of it. Deciding to save the tiny life growing inside of her, Grace must face the consequences of being that girl - the good girl who got knocked up.




I wasn't a fan of Plissner's previous work, Louder Than Words, but I wanted to give her another chance.  I won't do that again. 

This YA novel feels like it was written by a twelve-year-old, not an established author.  And I have a very hard time believing that staunch Pro-Lifers would suddenly want to force their daughter to have an abortion.  I am Pro-Choice and would never ever ever force someone to terminate a pregnancy.

There was a lot that was unrealistic, but what really pissed me off was all of the slut-shaming.  Why do women do that to each other?  Sex is a natural part of life.  It's healthy.  It's fun.  Yes, teen pregnancies happen.  But they don't just happen to the "bad" girls--those who have sex more than once(!).  Grace is portrayed as so.much.better than those stupid whores who got knocked up.  They're all low-class, low-GPA, unambitious leg-spreaders.  Smart girls don't get pregnant, so Grace is at a complete and total loss about how this happened!  AS IS HER DOCTOR.

I just...can't.

I'm so pissed off at this book.  I won't be reading anything else by Laurie Plissner.  EVER.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Good as Gone, by Douglas Corleone

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Former U.S. Marshal Simon Fisk works as a private contractor, tracking down and recovering children who were kidnapped by their own estranged parents. He only has one rule: he won’t touch stranger abduction cases. He’s still haunted by the disappearance of his own daughter when she was just a child, still unsolved, and stranger kidnappings hit too close to home.

Until, that is, six-year-old Lindsay Sorkin disappears from her parents’ hotel room in Paris, and the French police deliver Simon an ultimatum: he can spend years in a French jail, or he can take the case and recover the missing girl. Simon sets out in pursuit of Lindsay and the truth behind her disappearance. 

But Lindsay’s captors did not leave an easy trail, and following it will take Simon across the continent, through the ritziest nightclubs and the seediest back alleys, into a terrifying world of international intrigue and dark corners of his past he’d rather leave well alone.




I think that three stars is being a bit generous.  It's more like a 2.75: better than okay, but not good enough to say that I liked it.

The story was compelling and I wanted to keep reading, but I was constantly rolling my eyes at the melodrama and non-stop action.  Seriously.  Simon starts off all manly and turns into an emo teenager.  He kept talking about how he hated violence, but he was constantly getting into fights with other characters.  

I have a hard time believing that all it takes is one clue or roughed-up bad guy to know the exact location where Big Bad Guy is headed.  I like action in my mysteries, but this was over-the-top.

This was a quick read, but would have been better if it were fleshed out more with another 100 or so pages.  I don't think I'll be reading anything else by this author.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

If You Could Be Mine, by Sarah Farizan

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In this stunning debut, a young Iranian American writer pulls back the curtain on one of the most hidden corners of a much-talked-about culture.

Seventeen-year-old Sahar has been in love with her best friend, Nasrin, since they were six. They’ve shared stolen kisses and romantic promises. But Iran is a dangerous place for two girls in love—Sahar and Nasrin could be beaten, imprisoned, even executed if their relationship came to light.

So they carry on in secret—until Nasrin’s parents announce that they’ve arranged for her marriage. Nasrin tries to persuade Sahar that they can go on as they have been, only now with new comforts provided by the decent, well-to-do doctor Nasrin will marry. But Sahar dreams of loving Nasrin exclusively—and openly.

Then Sahar discovers what seems like the perfect solution. In Iran, homosexuality may be a crime, but to be a man trapped in a woman’s body is seen as nature’s mistake, and sex reassignment is legal and accessible. As a man, Sahar could be the one to marry Nasrin. Sahar will never be able to love the one she wants, in the body she wants to be loved in, without risking her life. Is saving her love worth sacrificing her true self?




I really, really, really wanted to love this book: how do two homosexual women in Iran fight to be together?  What a fantastic premise!

But I hated the characters.  Sahar is a total biznatch to Nasrin the majority of the time and I have no idea why they're together.  Sahar makes this monumental decision for their relationship WITHOUT CONSULTING HER GIRLFRIEND.  That really pissed me off.  I also don't understand why she didn't think about any other alternatives.  Why did she turn immediately to a sex change operation?

I dislike when books tell you what's happening instead of showing you: it bogs the story down and leaves me unsatisfied.

Were this novel put in the hands of the right editor, it would be a fantastic story.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Doctor Who Series 1: Winter's Dawn, Season's End

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Writer Tony Lee is joined by artists such as Matthew Dow Smith, Al Davison, Blair Shedd, and Kelly Yates to bring you the last comic adventures of the 10th Doctor!

The complete 16-issue Series 1 featuring the 10th Doctor, as portrayed by David Tennant, plus the 2010 Annual are collected in this oversized hardcover.







You know what would have been really cool?  If this had been the book advertised on NetGalley.  Instead of 400 pages of the swoony 10th Doctor, I was treated to 101 pages of the 11th.  Which would be fine if that's what I wanted.  I love Amy Pond and the two stories were enjoyable, but it's not what I expected.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Fire and Forget: Short Stories from the Long War, by Colum McCann

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These stories aren’t pretty and they aren’t for the faint of heart. They are realistic, haunting and shocking. And they are all unforgettable. Television reports, movies, newspapers and blogs about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have offered images of the fighting there. But this collection offers voices—powerful voices, telling the kind of truth that only fiction can offer.

What makes the collection so remarkable is that all of these stories are written by those who were there, or waited for them at home. The anthology, which features a Foreword by National Book Award winner Colum McCann, includes the best voices of the our wars’ generation: Brian Turner, whose poem Hurt Locker was the movie’s inspiration; Colby Buzzell, whose book My War resonates with countless veterans; Siobhan Fallon, whose book You Know When the Men Are Gone echoes the joy and pain of the spouses left behind; Matt Gallagher, whose book Kaboom captures the hilarity and horror of the modern military experience; and nine others.




The first thing I want to make clear is that my rating has nothing to do with the content and the events experienced by the authors.  I am a pacifist, but I greatly admire the men and women who fight for our country and our safety.

This anthology started out promising.  The second story—Tips for a Smooth Transition, by Siobhan Fallon—is my favorite and deserves five stars.  I love how she transitioned back and forth between the story and the written advice given to military spouses.  

I would give four stars to The Train, by Mariette Kalinowski.  Her writing is beautiful and I could feel the desperation and anxiety of her homecoming.  Another four stars to Raid, by Ted Janis.

Things started going downhill halfway through.  Television, by Roman Skaskiw was hard to understand because each person's rank was used over and over and over.  In one sentence, "Sergeant" was used three times for only two people.  

It was also at this point that stories stopped including any sort of resolution and became simply a recounting of events that occurred: "First we did this, then that, and then this other thing, and then that thing over there, the end."  There was no conflict (I'm not talking about the war here, but the conflict within the story that sets you up for the resolution), no "oh, wow" moment, no conclusion that left the reader sated.  It was more of a "that's it?" than a "holy crap."

The notable exception to the lackluster second half is When Engaging Targets, Remember, by Gavin Ford Kovite.  I do love a good choose-your-own adventure story.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

War Brothers: The Graphic Novel, by Sharon E. McKay

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Jacob is a 14-year-old Ugandan who is sent away to a boys' school. Once there, he assures his friend Tony that they need not be afraid -- they will be safe. But not long after, in the shadow of the night, the boys are abducted. Marched into the jungle, they are brought to an encampment of the feared rebel soldiers. They are told they must kill or be killed, and their world turns into a terrifying struggle to endure and survive.

In time, the boys escape. Hunted by the rebels, stalked by a lion, and even pursued by river crocs, they miraculously succeed in reaching safety. However, it is no longer enough. Jacob wrestles with the question of whether we are all really beasts inside. He decides the way through the pain is to record his story.

Daniel Lafrance's powerful, striking, and poignant artwork and the crisp, evocative text vividly capture the haunting experiences of a young boy caught in a brutal war.

This graphic novel is based on an award-winning YA novel by Sharon McKay. Sharon has spent time with child soldiers and based this story on real-life accounts.




This is not a book for children.  Repeat: NOT a book for children.  It's a graphic novel, but don't let that fool you.  I felt absolutely sick while reading this and I'm sure I'm going to have nightmares tonight.  I wouldn't dare give it to a child.

However awful I may feel after I finished this graphic novel, it's nothing near what the children in the Lord's Republican Army in Uganda experience on a daily basis.  Intellectually, I know about Joseph Kony and his group of rebel soldiers.  I've heard of the atrocities he advocates and the kill-or-be-killed mentality amongst his varied groups of soldiers.  This book -- this perfectly-illustrated, emotionally-charged, scary-as-hell look at what a boy goes through after he is kidnapped -- brings it all home.

If you are bothered by children put in terrible situations, don't read this graphic novel.  If, however, you want the experience of what it's like to be a child of war, pick this up immediately.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

The Crooked Maid, by Dan Vyleta

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Vienna, 1948. The war is over, and as the initial phase of de-Nazification winds down, the citizens of Vienna struggle to rebuild their lives amidst the rubble.

Anna Beer returns to the city she fled nine years earlier after discovering her husband's infidelity. She has come back to find him and, perhaps, to forgive him. Traveling on the same train from Switzerland is 18-year-old Robert Seidel, a schoolboy summoned home to his stepfather's sickbed and the secrets of his family's past.

As Anna and Robert navigate an unrecognizable city, they cross paths with a war-widowed American journalist, a hunchbacked young servant girl, and a former POW whose primary purpose is to survive by any means and to forget. Meanwhile, in the shells of burned-out houses and beneath the bombed-out ruins, a ghost of a man, his head wrapped in a red scarf, battles demons from his past and hides from a future deeply uncertain for all.




Apparently, this is the sequel to The Quiet Twin, which I didn't know until after I was done reading the book.  The Crooked Maid works as a stand-alone novel, but I hate reading series out of order.  If I had known that this was a follow-up, I wouldn't have requested this from NetGalley.

That being said, Vyleta's writing is beautiful and I fell in love with the imagery he presented.  This is definitely an "intelligent" book, so be prepared to read this without any distractions.  If you're looking for a light, fluffy novel, find something else and come back to this when you're ready to crank those brain cells.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Promises Made Under Fire, by Charlie Cochrane

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Lieutenant Tom Donald envies everything about fellow officer Frank Foden—his confidence, his easy manner with the men in the trenches, the affectionate letters from his wife. Frank shares these letters happily, drawing Tom into a vicarious friendship with a woman he's never met. Although the bonds of friendship forged under fire are strong, Tom can't be so open with Frank—he's attracted to men and could never confess that to anyone.

When Frank is killed in no-man's-land, he leaves behind a mysterious request for Tom: to deliver a sealed letter to a man named Palmer. Tom undertakes the commission while on leave—and discovers that almost everything he thought he knew about Frank is a lie…


 

Well color me impressed.  I honestly wasn't expecting much from this short story; it's hard to create a world in just over 50 pages.  But Cochrane did it: she made me believe that this happened and that these characters existed during WWI.

I really wish this were a full-length novel so I could read more about: 1) Frank's background and his relationship with his wife; 2) the time Tom and Frank spent together during the war; and 3) what happens to Tom when the war is over.

My jaw dropped when I read that Charlie Cochrane is a woman.  Most female authors who write m/m romances are so over-the-top that I've mostly stopped reading their works.  I will definitely read more from Ms. Cochrane, especially if she ever considers extending this story (pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease!).

Recommended for fans of Jojo Moyes.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Crush. Candy. Corpse., by Sylvia McNicoll

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Paradise Manor is depressing - the smells are bad and the residents are old. Sunny would much rather be doing her volunteer hours at Salon Teo, but her teacher won't let her. Who says volunteering at a hair salon doesn't benefit the community?

But working with the Alzheimer's patients has a surprising effect on Sunny. Along with Cole, the grandson of one of the residents, she begins to see that the residents don't have much more choice about their lives than she does: what they eat, how they are treated by staff, even what they watch on television. So Sunny does what she can to make the residents happy - even if she has to sometimes break the rules to do it.

But when tragedy strikes at Paradise, Sunny's left to make the decision about whether or not to honor a promise that Cole made to his grandmother about her life and her death.




I liked this book, but I didn't love it.  The cover is gorgeous and the premise is awesome, but it felt like there was something missing.  Sunny wasn't a very likeable character, so it was hard for me to relate to her.  I didn't understand why she had two love interests since she didn't treat either one of them very well.  Sunny also expected her BFF to listen to everything she had to say, then turned around and ignored her friend.

Having recently finished listening to Still Alice -- an emotional read if ever there was one -- I found the "fluffiness" surrounding the Alzheimer's patients in this novel annoying.  There was very little emotion involved; it all felt terribly hollow.

I enjoyed the back-and-forth with the courtroom, Sunny and her inner monologues regarding hair care, and the journal entries for her class.  The rest of it fell flat.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Gated, by Amy Christine Parker

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Release date: August 6, 2013

She thought the evil lived outside the walls. She was wrong.

In the Community, life seems perfect. Lyla Hamilton believes she is one of the chosen. Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Pioneer invited her family to join the Community and escape the evil in the world. They've thrived under his strict, charismatic leadership. Now seventeen, Lyla knows certain facts are not to be questioned:

Pioneer is her leader.
Will is her Intended.
The end of the world is near.

Pioneer has visions of the imminent destruction of humanity. He says his chosen must prepare to fight off the unchosen people, who will surely seek refuge in the Silo, the underground shelter where the Community will wait out the apocalypse.

Lyla loves her family and friends, but a chance encounter with an unchosen boy has her questioning Pioneer, the Community--everything. She needs time to figure out the truth. But with Pioneer's deadline for the end of days fast approaching, time is the one thing she doesn't have.




Drats.  Yet another book that tantalized me with a creepy cover and an intriguing premise, yet failed to deliver.  It was a struggle to finish this book, and I thought of giving up several times.  But I didn't want to start ARC August with a DNF! 

The main character, Lyla, was a whiny brat who was just so put-upon with the whole following-the-rules-of-the-community thing. 

And the whole bad-thing-that-happened-to-my-family-when-I-was-five-is-all-my-fault cliche is so annoying.  I have a five-year-old.  I can guarantee you that neither he nor his friends think that anything that happens--even those events that are the direct result of their actions--is their fault.  And how does she have so many questions when she's been brainwashed for so long?  We're told that she's a strong character, but I didn't see a lot of that.

Then Lyla sees Cody for the first time and she knows she's in love with him, even though she hasn't seen his whole face.

Um...okay?  I don't really know why he was introduced, other than to form a love triangle.

None of the characters seemed true to themselves.  Pioneer, in particular, wasn't a typical cult leader: he showed more manipulation than love of religion.

I was really disappointed in the end.  What was the motivation?  That's not the kind of END OF THE WORLD that I expected.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Out of Play, by Jolene Perry and Nyrae Dawn

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Rock star drummer Bishop Riley doesn't have a drug problem. Celebrities—especially ones suffering from anxiety—just need a little help taking the edge off sometimes. After downing a few too many pills, Bishop wakes up in the hospital facing an intervention. If he wants to stay in the band, he’ll have to detox while under house arrest in Seldon, Alaska.　

Hockey player Penny Jones can't imagine a life outside of Seldon. Though she has tons of scholarship offers to all the best schools, the last thing she wants is to leave. Who'll take care of her absentminded Gramps? Not her mother, who can’t even be bothered to come home from work, let alone deal with their new tenants next door.

Penny’s not interested in dealing with Bishop’s crappy attitude, and Bishop’s too busy sneaking pills to care. Until he starts hanging out with Gramps and begins to see what he’s been missing. If Bishop wants a chance with the fiery girl next door, he’ll have to admit he has a problem and kick it. Too bad addiction is hard to kick…and Bishop’s about to run out of time.




I have been in love with Nyrae Dawn's writing ever since I read What A Boy Wants.  So I jumped for joy when I was approved for this galley!

Like WaBW, the storyline is predictable (though there were a couple of surprises), but I didn't care.  Nyrae Dawn and Jolene Perry have created such a fantastic mash-up of characters that it really doesn't matter.  The characters are the most important, and they are perfect and perfectly flawed.

Penny is a kick-ass heroine: an ice hockey player who has always been on an all-male (except for her) team.  She's strong--both physically and emotionally--and is well-liked by her teammates and friends.  She's a tomboy and hates all of that "girlie" stuff, so we'd never be friends in real life.  But I'd admire her from afar and think she was really cool.  Scary--she could totally kick my ass from here to the next century--but definitely cool.

Poor Bishop just can't handle being famous and needs to chill with the drugs and alcohol.  He's a cocky asshole who gets taken down a peg in a place where no one knows his true identity.

I loved the snarky relationship between Bishop and Penny.  It was laugh-out-loud funny when they'd push each others' buttons.

And the make-out sessions?  Swoony.  Totally swoony.

I'm definitely purchasing the Kindle version for my personal collection.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

How to Lose Everything: A Mostly True Story, by Philipp Mattheis

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One summer, an incredible discovery gives Jonathan and his three closest friends many things they so desperately want – but at what cost?

Jonathan, Sam, Schulz, and Eric usually spend their summers hanging out at the park, skateboarding and dreaming about the days when they’ll finally move out of the suburbs. But one summer, the four teenagers find a small fortune hidden inside a mysterious abandoned house, and that changes everything. The dizzying thrill of money and power makes the future seem irrelevant; the only question that matters is what they should buy next. It was a dream come true, but it couldn't last. What starts out as a blessing soon turns into a curse, as stress, drugs, criminal behavior, dwindling funds—and even death—raise serious questions about their choices, and their futures.




This coming-of-age novel is like nothing I've read before.  Due to the fact that it's based on a true story, I couldn't decide if I wanted it to be more memoir-ish or more fictitious.  I don't mean that in a negative way.  It's simply the fact that it scares the bejeezus out of me that much of what's in this book actually happened.  And I don't know which parts!

How to Lose Everything will appeal to teenage boys.  I think this would be a great book for parents of early- to mid-teens to read with their sons in order to launch discussions surrounding theft and drug & alcohol abuse.

I read this short book—only just over 200 pages—in one evening.  Mattheis doesn't use flowery language to move the story forward: he is concise and pragmatic and doesn't leave out any of the "good stuff."

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Munchkin Monday #3: Cozy Classics: Les Misérables

A quick look at the new books I have read with Boy Child and Girl Child

Give a kid a classic! Cozy Classics is the popular board book series that presents well-loved stories to children aged 0+ through twelve child-friendly words and twelve needle-felted illustrations.

Les Misérables is Victor Hugo’s sweeping French saga about one man’s search for redemption in a world of hardship and misery, and is one of the world’s most beloved classics.

Now you can share this classic with children of any age.

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I admit that the main reason I requested this from NetGalley was to see how on earth they were going to present a tale of thievery, prostitution, and bloodshed to children.
It's...uh... not something you see every day.

The felting is incredible, but that's about all of the positive praise I can give this book.  If you didn't already know the story of Les Mis, you would be terribly confused.

The Husband and I read this book to the kids, but twisted the story so that it wasn't so...depressing.
We'll introduce the Classics to them when they're older.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

A Really Awesome Mess, by Trish Cook & Brendan Halpin

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A hint of Recovery Road, a sample of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, and a cut of Juno. A Really Awesome Mess is a laugh-out-loud, gut-wrenching/heart-warming story of two teenagers struggling to find love and themselves.

Two teenagers. Two very bumpy roads taken that lead to Heartland Academy.

Justin was just having fun, but when his dad walked in on him with a girl in a very compromising position, Justin's summer took a quick turn for the worse. His parents' divorce put Justin on rocky mental ground, and after a handful of Tylenol lands him in the hospital, he has really hit rock bottom.

Emmy never felt like part of her family. She was adopted from China. Her parents and sister tower over her and look like they came out of a Ralph Lauren catalog--and Emmy definitely doesn't. After a scandalous photo of Emmy leads to vicious rumors around school, she threatens the boy who started it all on Facebook.

Justin and Emmy arrive at Heartland Academy, a reform school that will force them to deal with their issues, damaged souls with little patience for authority. But along the way they will find a ragtag group of teens who are just as broken, stubborn, and full of sarcasm as themselves. In the end, they might even call each other friends.

A funny, sad, and remarkable story, A Really Awesome Mess is a journey of friendship and self-discovery that teen readers will surely sign up for.




 
I shouldn't like this book.

I'm not a fan of stories where all of the action happens quickly.  I much prefer gradual progression because I have a hard time believing that anyone could form relationships that quickly.

But Justin, Emmy, and the other kids are thrown together into a situation where they are forced to become fast friends and confidants.  In an environment such as theirs -- where they are sent by their families to deal with personal issues -- the only people they can rely on are other "difficult" teens.

I'm not a fan of stories where the characters are self-actualized enough to figure out what's been plaguing them with very little effort.

But I had to remind myself that I was reading this YA novel as an adult.  Were I still an angsty, depressed teenager, I would have loved reading about their deepest, darkest secrets simply because it would have helped me discover my own. 

I am not a fan of stories where there is vulgar language thrown in just for kicks.  If it doesn't advance the story, it doesn't need to be a part of the book.

But I tend to forget that teenagers DO throw curse words around for no reason other than to shock and titillate.

And so--even though I shouldn't--I really like this book.

My adult self scoffs at how nicely the story is packaged.  But my teen self knows that--even though it moves quickly and neatly--this novel portrays an important reality that could help others get through some tough times.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

There are Reasons Noah Packed No Clothes, by Robert Jacoby

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You need your eyes, don't you?

So does Richard Issych. Two weeks ago he overdosed. Now he's fighting for his life, finding threatening notes like that one on his nightstand.
 
There are Reasons Noah Packed No Clothes is the story of 19-year-old Richard Issych, who wakes to a harsh new reality inside an inpatient unit. Now Richard's journey turns into one of revelations and struggling through his own reasons for being as he discovers new meanings for redemption, sacrifice, hope, love--and the will to live.

In the end, what are the reasons Noah packed no clothes? Richard can only imagine. But it has something to do with a size 3XL bowling shirt with the name "Noah" stitched over the pocket.

There are reasons . . . everyone uses his own dictionary.

There are reasons . . . some new heavens come from some new hells.




Wow.

Just, wow. 

I just finished this book and I find myself searching for the right words to describe how I felt while reading it. 

As someone who has had suicidal tendencies for more than two decades, I feel very attached to Richard's story.  It hit home on so many levels, and I cried on multiple occasions (though, to be fair, it's not hard to make me cry), thinking about my own experiences: the heavy, black pressure on my heart; emotional pain at having to live through another day; believing that I wasn't good enough; and more.

The stream-of-consciousness writing fit the story perfectly: like in Jose Saramago's Blindness, or Jonathan Safran Foer's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, the stylistic use of language helped me to know the characters and believe their histories. 

The ending left me reeling, which is part of the reason I can't fully express myself.  I had to read the last few pages a few times to be sure that I actually read what I did.

This isn't a happy-cheery-fluffy book.  It's a powerful, thoughtful novel that should be absorbed slowly.  I'm really happy that I read it; it's given me a lot to think about.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.