What's Left of Me (Kat Zhang)

****

         In an alternate reality, babies are born with two souls inside of them.  As children, the two identities take turns controlling their body.  Eventually, they "settle" - the dominant soul takes control of the body, while the other one fades away.
         Eva and Addie have spent the past three years pretending that they have settled.  It's not too hard; Eva has lost control of their body, so Addie's act is very convincing.  But Eva is still there, and she can't help but wish that she had some power over their life.  When a classmate offers a way for Eva to move again, the girls take it, even though it means risking discovery in a society where hybrid souls are seen as a threat.  

         I really enjoyed this book!  The concept was super cool and seemed fresh in the world of dystopian future.  Addie and Eva were interesting, well developed characters.  I especially liked Eva for her strength despite her limitations, and for her strong desire to experience the world in a way she hadn't been able to do since she was little.  Can't wait for the sequel!

Rating: 4/5

Completed: July 22, 2013

The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Stephen Chbosky)

***

         High school freshman Charlie is shy and socially awkward, trying to find his place in a world of people nothing like him.  He ends up settling into a group of older students.  Loyal friends Patrick, Sam, and Mary Elizabeth help Charlie navigate his first drink, kiss, and Rocky Horror Picture Show - and help him figure out who he is and what's important to him.

         This book has gotten rave reviews from a lot of people.  A lot of people.  I really felt like I should have loved it, but I didn't.  That's not to say I didn't like it - it was an interesting story.  However, I didn't feel like Charlie's voice resonated with me.  It was a little childish and seemed unrealistic at times.  People talk about this book as really capturing the teenage experience, but Charlie's not an average teenager, and that definitely comes across in what he says and does.  On the other hand, he does capture that overarching feeling of not fitting in.  Charlie has a strong voice (regardless of my personal feelings about it).  I'm glad I read this book both because it was an interesting story and because now I know what everybody is talking about when The Perks of Being a Wallflower is mentioned.

Rating: 3/5
Completed: July 13, 2013

Why I Haven't Posted Lately, Or, How NaNoWriMo Controlled My Life (Or, A Message from the Queen of Excuses!)

As you may or may not have noticed (I mean, I'm not sure how often you visit me here) I have not posted much lately.  In fact, I have not posted since early November.  Hmm.  Suspicious . . .

Turns out, NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month, aka November - is the most time-consuming thing you could do.  Like, ever.  Basically, I have spent the past month trying to write 50,000 words of a novel.  

Reading?  

         Forget it.  

Homework?

         I could probably just skim this chapter.

Family time?  Social life?

         Nah.

Watching TV?

         Wait, we have a TV?

Okay, I did watch a little TV.  But the point is that I didn't get as much reviewing or blogging done as I would have liked to.  

Hey, it was worth it.  Although I will most likely never ever publish it, I have a (shortish, unfinished) manuscript to my name.  I reached my goal!  And if you've been around here for a while, you know how I am with goals . . .

On the bright side, I will have a little bit more time on my hands now.  Who knows?  I might even be able to post a few reviews.  

The Symptoms of My Insanity (Mindy Raf)

***

         Hypochondriac Izzy spends a good part of her day obsessively worrying whether she has some rare disease or another.  It doesn't help that her mom actually does have a rare disease, one that could possibly kill her.  Although Izzy's mom is in remission now, Izzy isn't quite ready to return to the world of normal.  It doesn't help that her best friend is acting like a completely different person, or that she can't tell whether her crush likes her or not.  When things start to get really horrible, Izzy can't categorize the crazy anymore.

         I know that bad things happen to good people.  Still, I almost think too many bad things happened to Izzy, to the point where it started to feel unrealistic.  Her family was always giving her a hard time, her friend didn't seem to care about what she was going through, and she was played by a guy who pretended to be her friend and knew that her mom had cancer.  The only reason that I could let it slide was that this book was also really funny.  Izzy's hilarious commentary prevented the book from being thoroughly depressing.  If you generally don't like sad books, this might be a good one for you, because it's got plenty of humor and ends on a positive note.

Rating: 3/5
Completed: July 10, 2013

The Madman's Daughter (Megan Shepherd)

***

         Juliet Moreau used to be a member of high society London, until rumors of her father's gruesome experiments came to light.  Dr. Moreau disappeared, his wife died, and an orphaned Juliet was left to fend for herself.  Years later, she runs into Montgomery, her father's assistant, and discovers that Dr. Moreau is still alive and working on a remote island.  Despite the dangers, Juliet accompanies Montgomery across the world to be reunited with her father (and to determine whether the rumors were true).  On the island, Juliet realizes that the rumors are not only true, but may have more to do with her own identity than she would like to believe.

         This book has an interesting, macabre concept: a so-called doctor who has developed a method of turning animals into grotesque, human-like creatures.  The protagonist, Juliet, is unexpectedly daring for a Victorian-era teenager.  She's not at all interested in gender limitations, and pursues science with great interest.  The threat of danger doesn't stop her from doing what she wants.  However, the book fell a little flat of its full potential.  Although the idea was interesting, the actual plot line was pretty darn predictable.  I already knew what the twistiest twist was going to be relatively early in the story.  Shepherd's foreshadowing was a little too obvious.  Another thing that bugged me was the love triangle between Juliet, Montgomery, and Edward, a castaway they picked up on their way to the island.  Sometimes a love triangle is good, sometimes it just makes the protagonist seem confused and a tiny bit shallow.  It was definitely the latter in this case.  That being said, people who are looking for a mix of romance, science, and psychopaths might want to pick up this book.

Rating: 3/5
Completed: July 8, 2013

Nantucket Blue (Leila Howland)

***

         This summer was supposed to be Cricket Thompson's best summer ever: the summer she would go to Nantucket with her best friend Jules Clayton and finally get the guy she's been crushing on all year.  When an unexpected tragedy occurs, though, Cricket is suddenly no longer welcome anywhere near the Claytons.  Instead of canceling her plans, she gets a job cleaning a Nantucket B&B.  There, she makes new friends, lands an internship, and falls for someone she never would have expected.  If she can figure out what she wants, this could be Cricket's best summer, after all.

         Summer is substance-optional, at least when it comes to books.  So I picked up this one thinking that there wouldn't be much to it.  I mean, girl falls in love with off-limits boy at beach?  Gee, I haven't heard that one before.  But there was a little more to the story.  At the start of the book, Cricket seems like a privileged and slightly spoiled "popular girl".  Over the course of the summer, she deals with family issues and a friend crisis.  She meets new friends and realizes that her old identity wasn't really her identity at all.  Nantucket Blue exceeded my expectations in that respect.  Maybe it seems completely shallow, but if you're looking for a light read with a bit more to it, Nantucket Blue is a good pick.

Rating: 3/5
Completed: June 29, 2013

Eleanor & Park (Rainbow Rowell)

****

         Eleanor is not normal, something Park notices the second she climbs onto the school bus with her crazy hair, eccentric clothes, and less-than-perfect body.  But when his classmates refuse to give her a seat, Park does the unthinkable and tells her to sit next to him.  And, to his horror, she does.
         As the weeks go by, Park's interest in Eleanor grows.  She reads the comics that he brings on the bus.  He brings her a stack to take home every night.  She comes to his house and is fascinated by his music.  He starts to make mix tapes just for her.  She eats dinner with his family every night to avoid her own.  Soon, Eleanor and Park want to spend all of their time together.  They want to make this work.  Maybe, though, first love isn't meant to work, especially when the cards are stacked against them.  Maybe they will have to choose between what they want, and what they need to do.

         This was a really really good book.  Yeah, I know that's kind of a lame way to say what I'm trying to say . . . but it's also true.  Eleanor & Park is sad, happy, depressing, exciting, upsetting, and uplifting.  Talk about an emotional roller coaster.  There was some pretty heavy emphasis on first love, etc, but the book also dealt with bullying and various family problems.  It was balanced, at least as far as YA romance goes.  As usual, it's been a while since I've read this book, so I can't remember most of the specific pros and cons.  The fact that I only remember positive things is probably a good sign!  My main criticism of this book is that it makes a lot of references to 80s culture (I mean, a lot) which made me feel very un-hipster.  Which I guess is accurate.  Anyway, if you want a great YA romance, Eleanor & Park was practically made for you - go read it!

Rating: 4/5
Completed: June 27, 2013