Review: Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen

Title: Lock and Key
Author: Sarah Dessen
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Published: 22nd April 2008
Source: Own Copy

"Ruby, where is your mother?" Ruby knows that the game is up. For the past few months, she's been on her own in the yellow house, managing somehow, knowing that her mother will probably never return.That's how she comes to live with Cora, the sister she
hasn't seen in ten years, and Cora's husband Jamie, whose down-to-earth demeanor makes it hard for Ruby to believe he founded the most popular networking Web site around. A luxurious house, fancy private school, a new wardrobe, the promise of college and a future—it's a dream come true. So why is Ruby such a reluctant Cinderella, wary and defensive? And why is Nate, the genial boy next door with some secrets of his own, unable to accept the help that Ruby is just learning to give? - From Goodreads

With my love of contemporary fiction growing quickly, I now have another author to add to my list with Sarah Dessen. This was the first Sarah Dessen book I have read and I can assure you that it will not be the last!! I had heard many good things about her so I decided to randomly pick up one of her books to read and this was the one I set my hands upon. I knew what to expect from contemporary fiction, what I was not expecting was how this book would grip me and not let me go. I think if you could fall in love with a book, I would be on my way as I could not put this down.

Ruby has been living on her own for a while now. She has been trying to make ends meet and keep herself out of trouble at school so that no one will find out that her mother left a few months ago. After the authorities find out she is on her own she is placed in her sisters custody, the only problem is that Ruby has not seen her sister Cora in ten years. Ruby has no idea where she fits into Cora's life and would rather set off on her own again than stay and find out.

Ruby was a great character. Right from the start of the book I empathised with her and wanted her to find a safe home to live in with people who loved her. I was solidly on her side right from the start, however this did not stop me from wanting to grab ruby and shake her to try and stop her from making some really stupid mistakes. Even though she does really stupid stuff, you can see through this whole book how much Ruby wants to keep her life together and I found myself rooting for her the whole way through.

The other characters in this book are also great and there was no one in the story that made me want to punch them. Even Ruby's control freak older sister Cora is well meaning, even if some of her guilt and remorse is misdirected. In contrast, Nate the boy next door seems like he leads a charmed life and it seems like he has everything, but he is far more complex and as his story unravels we learn that Nate is just as tortured as Ruby is.

This book was not too deep or dreary and the story kept going at a good pace. I never felt like there were any parts that I was struggling to get through, the plot just kept pulling me along. There were nice touches throughout this book and I really liked that all the characters were flawed in some way, it made them all very likeable. This was a good story with an engaging character who does stupid things.

This was a great book, I don't think it was ground breaking in any way, but I was engaged for the whole book and I admit that I got a bit teary on occasion. I think that I will be reading more Sarah Dressen books whenever I am in need of some really good contemporary fiction. Is there a Team Sarah Dressen I can join?

Review: Dead Beautiful by Yvonne Woon

Title: Dead Beautiful
Author: Yvonne Woon
Publisher: Usborne Publishing Ltd
Published: 1st May 2011
Series: Dead Beautiful #1
Source: Own Copy

At Gottfried Academy, just one kiss will take your breath away. After Renee discovers her parents dead in what appears to be a strange double murder, she is sent to Gottfried Academy, a remote and mysterious high school dedicated to philosophy, 'crude sciences', and Latin: the Language of the Dead. Here she meets Dante, a dark and elusive student who harbors a deadly secret, but to whom she feels inexplicably drawn. Despite himself, Dante cannot control his attraction to Renee either and their desires gradually deepen into a complex and dangerous romance. But Dante's not the only one with secrets...Gottfried Academy has a few of its own. When Renee begins to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a former student, she begins to realize just how deadly these secrets are...Dark romance meets haunting murder mystery in this captivating tale of love, death and destiny. - From Goodreads

I think it took me about a month to read the first chapter of this book. I always seemed to pick it up when I was in the wrong mood to read, when I was so tired I could barely finish a page or I would start to read and then get distracted by something else. Once I finally sat down to properly read this book it found it really easy to involved in the story and I managed to finish in a couple of days.

The story begins with Renee finding her parents dead and having to move to the other side of the country to live with her grandfather to promptly sends her to Gottfried Academy. This is a school where no electricity is used, only candles after dark and Latin is the main language studied. Soon after starting the school year she meets Dante. Dante is beautiful, aloof and super cool.

I found the story in this book to be really slow to start. To me it felt like the first half of the book was spent getting to know Renee and her friends; Dante, Eleanor and Nathan, and describing the surroundings. I also felt like the descriptions of Dante only happened a tiny bit at a time. Now I know this was as Renee got to know him, we would get to know him, but to me there were somethings that could have been mentioned earlier.

So once we got into the story and finding out about what is really going on at the school, who is who and what they are doing, I really enjoyed it. I thought the supernatural angle (I'm not going to ruin any surprises) was really interesting, well thought out and has loads going for it. I think if I had to summarise the last half of the book it would take me a while as lots happened. the story had me guessing as I was reading, and trying to predict what would happen, not only in the rest of the book, but the rest of the series.

I can see this being a series I really enjoy as long as the next few books can get right to the action and don't linger too long on reminding us what happened previously. I will defiantly be picking up a copy Life Eternal (Dead Beautiful #2) as soon as it comes out.

Review: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Title: Anna and the French Kiss
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Publisher: Dutton
Published: 2nd Dec 2010
Source: Own Kindle Copy

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris - until she meets Etienne St. Clair: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home.

As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near - misses end with the French kiss Anna - and readers - have long awaited? - From Goodreads

Why did no one take me by the shoulders, shake me, then force me to sit down and read this book? It was on my kindle for at least 8 months before I got round to reading it, and now I feel like slapping myself and yelling "WHAT WERE YOU WAITING FOR?!?" How can I describe my love for this book? I think this book rekindled my love of contemporary romance novels - thank you Stephanie Perkins.

So the story follows Anna in her last year of school. This is not a normal year as her father has decided it would be best for her to spend the year at an American school in Paris! Some people might think "Paris, how amazing", but Anna is going to Paris without any knowledge of the language and leaving her friends, family, possible boyfriend and job. What a nightmare! Luckily she quickly makes friends and meets Meredith, Josh, Rashmi and St Clair. 

Ah, St Clair... Etienne St Clair. Charming, handsome, British (apparently that makes American girl's toes tingle!) and unfortunately dating Ellie! Boo! 

I love Anna! She is total geek-tastic. A film fanatic, who can happily spend every evening in the cinema on her own enjoying every type of film there is to offer, is someone I could get to know. Even more than that there were some absolute gems that made me laugh, like her complete inability to order food at school. Anna is the friend I think everyone could use in their lives.

This book was a joyful emotional rollercoaster. The ups were fantastic and the downs left you wanting to reach into the book and give Anna a hug. When I finished the book I felt completely satisfied, wanting more and planning a trip to Paris (I mean really I am so close, why have I never been?). Stephanie Perkins I need you writing more books!!

Review: Shrinking Violet by Danielle Joseph

Title: Shrinking Violet
Author: Danielle Joseph
Publisher: MTV
Published: 5th May 2009
Source: Own Copy

High school senior Teresa Adams is so painfully shy that she dreads speaking to anyone in the hallways or getting called on in class.
But in the privacy of her bedroom with her iPod in hand, she rocks out - doing mock broadcasts for Miami's hottest FM radio station, which happens to be owned by her stepfather. When a slot opens up at The SLAM, Tere surprises herself by blossoming behind the mike into confident, sexy Sweet T - and to everyone's shock, she's a hit!
Even Gavin, the only guy in school who she dares to talk to, raves about the mysterious DJ's awesome taste in music. But when The SLAM announces a songwriting contest -- and a prom date with Sweet T is the grand prize - Sweet T's dream could turn into Tere's worst nightmare... - From Goodreads

When I was growing up I was a huge fan of the film Pump Up The Volume. If you are not familiar with this Christian Slater masterpiece, he is a shy guy who comes alive on his pirate radio station which causes havoc and rebellion amongst his peers. So when I was perusing the YA US import shelves at the bookstore across the road from my flat and read the back of this one, there was no question I was going to buy it. When I got home, before I had even properly taken my coat off, I was eagerly starting the book.

Teresa, or Tere as everyone knows her, Adams is shy. She is not just nervous in front of people but is scared every day that someone will as her a question as when she has to talk to someone it feels like there is a lump of peanut butter jamming her throat. The only time she is ever relaxed and herself is when she is alone in her room pretending to be a DJ for one of the programmes on her stepfather's radio station.

When one of the DJ's quits leaving an opening at the station, an unpredicted outburst from Tere has her helping out as an intern after school. A series of events culminates in Tere becoming her on air persona, Sweet T, and becoming the prize in a competition, win a prom date with Sweet T.

I loved the character of Tere. I thought she was sweet and funny. I could see that her shyness was not just something she had to get over it was actually a real problem for her. I thought she was a well written character and I actually felt myself being nervous for her at some points. I also really liked Tere's mother and stepfather. I thought they made a good pair even if Tere's mother pushes the mothering too far.

I have to say that I loved this story from beginning to end. My only tiny gripe with it would be that Tere does begin to stand up for herself a little towards the end. I wonder why does she find her voice now? How quickly standing up for herself turns from a crippling fear to something she can do when needed. Either way I felt happy at the end of the book and wonder why I never considered a career as a DJ!

Review: Something Like Fate by Susane Colasanti

Title: Something Like Fate
Author: Susane Colasanti
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Published: 4th May 2010
Source: Own Copy

Warning Review Contains Spoilers!

Best friends Lani and Erin couldn't be more different. Lani's reserved and thoughtful; Erin's bubbly and outgoing. Lani likes to do her own thing; Erin prefers an entourage. There's no possible way they could be interested in the same guy. So when Erin starts dating Jason, Lani can't believe she feels such a deep connection with him, and it may be mutual. The more Lani fights it, the more certain she feels that it's her fate to be with Jason. But what do you do when the love of your life is the one person you can't have? - From Goodreads

I could have read this book easily in one sitting on holiday if my friend had not insisted we go for a walk and get a massage! Let me read my book woman (although the massage was spot on!). This book had an writing style I found offputting but I thought the characters were very realistic as teenagers right from the beginning (for some this may be good or it may be bad!).

I was torn with this book. There were some things I liked and there were some things that really annoyed me. Since I like lists, I will summarise these in list form starting with the good.

What I Liked
1. The Gay Best Friend - You have got to love a gay best friend and this one is particularly blunt and fantastic. 

2. The Parent's obsession with turning out the lights and not turning the heating up!! - This is how I grew up. My parents would refuse to turn the heating up ("Put on another pair of socks if your feet are cold" - My Dad) and you often got the light turned out on you (most often when we were in the bathroom!!!). So to me this was really familiar, realistic and to me amusing.

What I Didn't Like
1. The Writing - I am pretty sure when I was at primary school we were taught that it was bad form to start every other line of speech " Then I said 'blah, blah...'" we get know how dialogue works. (I was also told at primary that swallowing chewing gum would kill me - hmm...) To me it felt a little childish.
 
2. Lani needs to stand up to her bitch BFF - So I can be rather feisty at times, but I really think even a timid person would stand up to being treated like trash by a "friend"! Personally for me Erin would have been a goner as soon as she crossed me once.
 
3. The BFF - As should have been clear by the quotation marks above, I think Erin is no friend to Lani, especially not a best friend. I have a fairly close knit group of friends and in the past we have done some pretty crappy things to each other, however I think real friends are like family; things may seem awful when you are fighting, but you know you will make up eventually.
 
4. The coincidences!! - To me some of the coincidences are totally ridiculous! They both think of different water in terms of shapes and colours (is this not a disease?). Why only water? What about fruit juice or milk? NOT A COINCIDENCE, JUST WEIRD!!
Also they played together when they were babies? I live in the capital of Scotland, and if I stop 10 people on the streets of Edinburgh around my age, I will be connected somehow to at least half of them. If I narrow this down to speaking to people in the catchment area of my high school, or primary school, we will have gone to most of the same places, know the same people and probably have played with each other at some point. NOT A COINCIDENCE, JUST STATISTICS!!
I could go on, but I think I will leave it there!

Sorry for shouting, rant over, there was just so much about this book that rubbed me the wrong way. I think if it had been a longer book I may have given up. The things which annoyed me may be enjoyable for another reader, but for me I found them hard to overlook.

Rating: 1 / 5

Review: Charmed Thirds by Megan McCafferty

Title: Charmed Thirds
Author: Megan McCafferty
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Published: 24th April 2007
Series: Jessica Darling #3
Source: Own Copy

Jessica Darling continues to grow, groove, lust, and hook up. In this witty follow-up to Sloppy Firsts and Second Helpings, Jessie studies and romps through three years at New York's Columbia University. When not soaking up Ivy League ambiance, this exuberant undergraduate is busy salvaging her long-distance relationship with her high school boyfriend Marcus Flutie, now a candidate for nirvana at an unaccredited Buddhist college in California. As usual, Jessie's perceptions are somewhat less ethereal but probably more interesting to readers. A stylish teen funfest. - From Goodreads

Jessica Darling, you are such a complicated girl. Just when I think we are similar and I probably would have done the same thing in your position you turn around and do something completely different. I love you, but sometimes you make me want to never speak to or hear from you again.

I admit I am being a tad over dramatic with that, however I see that it is the mark of a good character that I feel so totally that she could be a real person. No matter if I like her or loathe her at any specific point in the book I can't help but think of her as a real person.

I think that this was my least favorite of the Jessica Darling books so far purely because it covers 3 years in the book and I would have preferred to skip most of it and look at a more targeted period in her life. What about Marcus, I hear you ask? Well let me just say that we see Marcus at the beginning of the 3 years but we have to bear in mind that he is at school across the country, and that kind of strain is hard on a relationship. There were some "romantic" (not really romantic at all) situations that Jessica got herself into that made me laugh as you can relate to all of them and may well have been in the same situations yourself.

I will read the final books in the series, but for me they have started to lose a little of the magic which made me devour the first two books in only a couple of days. Lets hope that the next books can recapture it and that it has not been lost along with Jessica Darling's youth.

Review: Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Title: Unearthly
Author: Cynthia Hand
Publisher: HarperTeen
Published: 4th January 2011
Series: Unearthly #1
Source: Own Copy

In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees . . . .

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy.
Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place—and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.
As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make—between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?
Unearthly is a moving tale of love and fate, and the struggle between following the rules and following your heart. - From Goodreads

I am fascinated by angels. Some of them are pure and as we have seen in a number of other Angel based books there are also "bad" angels waiting to corrupt our main characters. Part angels or Nephilim are just as fascinating, have you ever seen the Paul Wesley mini series The Fallen? I thought was awesome! (If you have not seen this yet then check it out!!) With the popularity of angels being the main supernatural  increasing at the moment I was surprised to find that Unearthly felt really fresh and new to me. It was not what I was expecting, in a really good way.

For a start the main character is Clara who is struggling to come to terms with the fact she is part angel and has a destiny or purpose to fulfill. Before Clara began to get her visions all she really had to worry about was not being too good at school as being an angel-blood means she is faster, stronger and smarter than a teenage girl should be. Clara's visions start with a handsome boy standing in the woods. From this vision her family (Mum and Brother) move across the country to live where Clara has to be for her vision to take place.

We only find out small details about the vision at a time and the boy who has a starring role in it, Christian. He is not the only handsome man though; there is also the twin brother of Clara's best friend, Tucker. Now to me I felt that the character of Christian was a bit distant and a bit flat and Tucker was definitely the star of the show for me, I am Team Tucker all the way (although I do admit I have a thing for the rugged cowboy)! I think if Christian had been a bit more rounded as a character I would have felt more like there was anguish between the 2 boys.

I liked that a lot of this story was Clara's internal struggle of doing what feels right and what others perceive to be right. There is also a good number of issues left hanging at the end of the book which I am looking forward to finding out about in further books but none of them left me feeling cheated. Too often with books in a series I feel like parts of the story are just left to make you come back, but in this case it felt like there was just so much to know and we would find out in time when it was needed for the story.

I can't wait for the next book in this series, it promises to be amazing.

Review: Raw Blue By Kirsty Eagar

Title: Raw Blue
Author: Kirsty Eagar
Publisher: Penguin Books Australia
Published: 29th June 2009
Source: Own Copy

Carly has dropped out of uni to spend her days surfing and her nights working as a cook in a Manly café. Surfing is the one thing she loves doing … and the only thing that helps her stop thinking about what happened two years ago at schoolies week.

And then Carly meets Ryan, a local at the break, fresh out of jail. When Ryan learns the truth, Carly has to decide. Will she let the past bury her? Or can she let go of her anger and shame, and find the courage to be happy? - From Goodreads

Raw is the perfect word in this title. The whole book is raw like an open wound with emotion dripping from every page. If there is one book I could give a hug and a cup of sweet tea to then this would be it! Look at it, even the cover is beautiful!

This is the story of a girl who at the start of the book is just trying to survive day to day. Every day for Carly is surfing and working to make the money she needs to surf. The back story of Carly's trauma is slowly revealed through the book, but it does not feel like this is being kept a secret from us, more like Carly is telling when she can.

The other characters in the book are also amazing and only add to the story. While on the subject of the other characters - Ryan!! Why can't I have my own Ryan? It is easy to see why Ryan keeps Carly afloat, he is charming, supportive, patient and smoking hot!! 

Right from the get go this is an extremely Australian book, using what can only be described as Australian sounds. I thought this was funny and my years of watching Neighbours and Home and Away when I was younger paid off. I also think that these years of viewing Home and Away made me think that surfing is super cool. I have no knowledge of surfing or any of the lingo but I never felt confused about the surfing talk.

I loved this book so much I think it will forever bin in my top 5 books. If you have not read it yet then out down whatever you are doing and get yourself a copy!

Review: Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

Title: Beauty Queens
Author: Libba Bray
Publisher: Scholastic Pres
Published: 24th May 2011
Source: Own Copy

The fifty contestants in the Miss Teen Dream pageant thought this was going to be a fun trip to the beach, where they could parade in their state-appropriate costumes and compete in front of the cameras. But sadly, their airplane had another idea crashing on a desert island and leaving the survivors stranded with little food, little water, and practically no eyeliner.

What's a beauty queen to do? Continue to practice for the talent portion of the program--or wrestle snakes to the ground? Get a perfect tan--or learn to run wild? And what should happen when the sexy pirates show up?

Welcome to the heart of non-exfoliated darkness. Your tour guide? None other than Libba Bray, the hilarious, sensational, Printz Award-winning author of A Great and Terrible Beauty and Going Bovine. The result is a novel that will make you laugh, make you think, and make you never see beauty the same way again. - From Goodreads

So I wanted to read this book for a couple of reasons, firstly I absolutely love the cover and secondly I thought the story sounded great.

I remember at school Lord of the Flies was the first book we read in class that I could not get enough of. The premise of  a group of strangers being stranded on a desert island and having to fend for themselves is one of my favorites. There are so many different stories which can be explored with on top of this base storyline. What will they do for food? Is the island hostile? Will they all get along or will there be tension within the survivors? Will they be the only humans on the island? Do they have the knowledge to get everything they need to survive? Will any of them go crazy due to the situation? I could continue asking questions on and on and on... I am an absolutely massive Survivor fan.

I was expecting that Beauty Queens would feel a bit like reading Lord of the Flies, but I found that this was not the case. I felt that there was a lot more menace to the whole story with a weird alt-reality government and a wannabe president who wants to do deals with a psycho dictator who likes to dress as Elvis. All in all it seemed far more like Lost than Lord of the Flies. I had no problem with this and I think the alt-reality lent itself to some unexpected story twists.

So the deal with the alt-reality is that there seems to be a single overseeing body called The Corporation who are kind of like a national puppet master. They seem to have control over most things including pharmaceuticals, beauty products, clothes, weaponry etc... The story is interrupted every so often with "Commercials", which often made me laugh out loud, for products, programming or facts about the surviving Beauty Queens. I also got the impression that within this society there was massive pressure for women to conform to what is perceived as beautiful and that men could do as they liked.

I really enjoyed this book and by about halfway through some of the characters which had annoyed me to begin with had grown on me and I was rooting for them all. For me the real enjoyment in this book was the details, like the boy band song titles, or some of the male characters who were introduced later on in the story, however at times this could slow the flow of the story. My experience of this book may have been helped by the fact that I read most of this book on holiday lying on the beach.

Review: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Title: Catching Fire
Author: Suzanne Collins
Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.
Published: 1st September 2009
Series: The Hunger Games #2
Source: Own Kindle Copy

WARNING - DESCRIPTION AND REVIEW CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR HUNGER GAMES

Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark won the annual competition described in Hunger Games, but the aftermath leaves these victors with no sense of triumph. Instead, they have become the poster boys for a rebellion that they never planned to lead. That new, unwanted status puts them in the bull's-eye for merciless revenge by The Capitol. Catching Fire maintains the adrenaline rush of Suzanne Collins's series launch. - From Goodreads

My love of Hunger Games saw me transitioning straight from one book right into the next. I absolutely adored the Hunger Games and wanted to clap my hands at the end of the book when Katniss and Peeta won!! Woo Hoo, those two deserved it, they worked hard to survive against the odds and it turns out that their triumph was the spark needed to cause unrest within the Districts.

This book had a slightly different feel to Hunger Games. We already know from the first book what the Hunger Games are about and the power wielded by The Capitol to keep the Districts in line. I thought that the start of Catching Fire felt a little unsettled, almost like it did not know where it was going, however I think we are supposed to feel this way.

Katniss and Peeta are back from the Hunger Games and as you would expect, after surviving against the odds, they are feeling like they don't know their place within the society they have returned to. Quickly though the story returns to the Hunger Games and the environment we are familiar with, not failing to deliver on the suspense we found in the first book.

I can't rave about this series enough and will be forcing my Mum read these as soon as she has the time, along with anyone else who will listen to me about how good they are!! I can't wait for the film to come out!

Review: The Nine Lives of Chloe King by Liz Baswell

Title: The Nine Lives of Chloe King
Author: Liz Braswell
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Published: 7th June 2011
Series: Chloe King # 1 - 3

Chloe King is a normal girl. She goes to class (most of the time), fights with her mom, and crushes on a boy…or two. But around her sixteenth birthday, Chloe finds that perhaps she isn’t so normal after all. There’s the heightened night vision, the super fast reflexes – oh, and the claws.
As she discovers who she is – and where she comes from – it is clear she is not alone. And someone is trying to get her.
Chloe has nine lives. But will nine be enough? - From Goodreads

I was desperate to read this book as I love the TV show and I felt it was not moving fast enough for me so I decided to find out the ending as soon as possible (OK so I have very little patience!!). This was a fine book. I did not have any major problems with any specific parts of this book, more just niggly annoyances. I think having seen most of season 1 before reading this gave me a better understanding of the vision and the concept.

So if you know absolutely nothing about Chloe King here are the top 5 things you need to know about Chloe King (the book character!) -

1. Chloe King is Mai. Descended from the Egyptian cat goddesses on her 16th birthday she develops crazy balancing skills, claws and generally becomes half human half cat!

2. Chloe is a special Mai and has 9 lives. After falling off the top of that tall tower in San Fransisco (hey I'm from the UK I can't remember everything!!) she dies and comes back to life.

3. I find Chloe's 2 best friends ridiculously annoying and wish she would just walk away from them. I thought the characters of Amy and Paul were weak and most of the time moaning about how bad a friend Chloe is.

4. Chloe has 2 hot guys chasing after her. Alec is Mai, Russian and cocky, you would think that this would make Chloe go all weak at the knees, but there is also Brian. The problem is Brian is human and Mai and humans cannot mix. In fact Mai are deadly for humans. This makes the whole Brian relationship doomed.

5. Lastly I think Chloe's attitude at the beginning of the book stinks!! In my day I would get a 4 hour lecture and grounded if I refused to talk to my mother, skipped school for a day to hang out with my buddies and snuck out most nights (damn, I didn't get away with anything.) Towards the end of the book she does seem to grow up a bit and take a bit more responsibility which is better.

There are some similarities between the books and the TV series, especially the first book, but the story seems to have diverged onto a different path in the TV show. I enjoyed the book and found it very easy and quick to get into and finish.

 

ABC Family

Rating: 3 / 5

Review: The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Published: 5th May 2009
Series: Summer 1
Source: Own Copy

Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer--they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one terrible and wonderful summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along. - From Goodreads

OH MY GOD!!! Next time I need a good cry I will pick up either this book or "It's Not Summer Without You" and I will re-read them and weep! Belly, Isabelle, has always spent summers with the Fisher family in their beach house. Susannah Fisher is like a second mother to Belly and both Conrad and Jeremiah treat Belly like an annoying little sister, that is until this year.


This book gives the appearance of being a light-hearted girly romance - but don't be fooled!! This is a touching story of growing up, extended family and first love. It deals with some honest and real situations in a lovely way and I could completely relate to secretly pining over the "close family friend" (although if you ask my mother it was not so much of a secret!!) For me, Belly became such a real and well rounded character to me so that when she was happy, I was happy and when she was sad, I weeped!!


If you are looking for a YA book which is more than a book about a teen crush then I would turn you around, march you to the nearest bookshop and order you buy a copy!