Showing posts with label YA Contemporary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label YA Contemporary. Show all posts

Review: My Life Next Door

Title: My Life Next Door
Author: Huntley Fitzpatrick
Publisher: Dial Books
Pages: 394

My Rating:


The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, messy, affectionate. And every day from her rooftop perch, Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them . . . until one summer evening, Jase Garrett climbs up next to her and changes everything. As the two fall fiercely for each other, stumbling through the awkwardness and awesomeness of first love, Jase's family embraces Samantha - even as she keeps him a secret from her own. Then something unthinkable happens, and the bottom drops out of Samantha's world. She's suddenly faced with an impossible decision. Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself? -goodreads.com



Loved this flippin' book. The ending could have been better, it felt rushed in my opinion. And can I just mention, I HATED the mom from page one! Grrr! That is all...

Review: Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles


Title: Perfect Chemistry (Perfect Chemistry #1)
Anthor: Simone Elkeles
Publisher:
Bloomsbury USA/Walker
Pages: 368
Challenge: None

My Rating:



When Brittany Ellis walks into chemistry class on the first day of senior year, she has no clue that her carefully created “perfect” life is about to unravel before her eyes. She’s forced to be lab partners with Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the other side of town, and he is about to threaten everything she's worked so hard for—her flawless reputation, her relationship with her boyfriend, and the secret that her home life is anything but perfect. Alex is a bad boy and he knows it. So when he makes a bet with his friends to lure Brittany into his life, he thinks nothing of it. But soon Alex realizes Brittany is a real person with real problems, and suddenly the bet he made in arrogance turns into something much more. In a passionate story about looking beneath the surface, Simone Elkeles breaks through the stereotypes and barriers that threaten to keep Brittany and Alex apart. -summary from goodreads.com
a shout out to Haley over at YA-Aholic for recommending this book! THANK YOU!
This is probably the best YA contemporary book I've ever read. It was real, emotional, powerful, tender, romantic and sexy! I loved every single second of it! I seriously don’t know how to describe what I feel; everything about this book was just perfect.
I'll admit, in the beginning Brittany was a bit of a snob, but then you learn more about her family and background…. you cant help but feel sorry for her. Of course, her problems don’t compare to Alex’s, they’re on a completely different level. Speaking of Alex!... he easily made my top 10 book boyfriends! (Slight spoiler) I don’t care if everything started out because of a dumb bet, in the end Alex won me over! Throughout the whole book, you cant help but root for Alex and Brittany’s underdog love to succeed. Everyone wants them to fail, but they’re perfect for each other. I literally found myself screaming, “just kiss her already!”
This book is such an emotional roller coaster. Two very different realities clash in perfect chemistry. The characters were definitely well written and I felt that I really got to know them - inside and out. They both hid their identities to their friends for fear of being found out and together. I loved seeing their relationship grow and how both Brittany and Alex managed to uncover their own secrets and find their true selves. I really, really REALLY enjoyed this book.
I’ve heard that the second and third book won’t be based on Alex and Brittany (tear!). Instead they will focus on Alex’s brothers; Carlos and Luis… I’m still debating on whether or not I’ll read them. Anyone else read them? Should I pick them up right away? Let me know. Overall, you haven’t read this book I recommended you go do it NOW! You’ll be sorry if you wait as long as I did.

 How I pictured Alex. He's also the actor that plays him in the book trailers.
I enjoyed this book so much that I want to share a couple of my favorite Alex quotes:

"I want to know how to make this girl laugh. I want to know what makes her cry. I want to know what it feels like to have her look at me as if I’m her knight in shinning armor"

"This connection we have isn't going away, it's only getting stronger. Because the more I spend time with her, the closer I want to be." 
"There's a thin line between love and hate. Maybe you're confusing your emotions." 
Now excuse me while I go re-read the book :)

Review: Forget You by Jennifer Echols

Title: Forget You
Author: Jennifer Echols
Publisher: MTV Books
Pages: 292
Challenge: None

My Rating:

WHY CAN’T YOU CHOOSE WHAT YOU FORGET . . . AND WHAT YOU REMEMBER? There’s a lot Zoey would like to forget. Like how her father has knocked up his twenty-four- year old girlfriend. Like Zoey’s fear that the whole town will find out about her mom’s nervous breakdown. Like darkly handsome bad boy Doug taunting her at school. Feeling like her life is about to become a complete mess, Zoey fights back the only way she knows how, using her famous attention to detail to make sure she’s the perfect daughter, the perfect student, and the perfect girlfriend to ultra-popular football player Brandon. But then Zoey is in a car crash, and the next day there’s one thing she can’t remember at all—the entire night before. Did she go parking with Brandon, like she planned? And if so, why does it seem like Brandon is avoiding her? And why is Doug—of all people— suddenly acting as if something significant happened between the two of them? Zoey dimly remembers Doug pulling her from the wreck, but he keeps referring to what happened that night as if it was more, and it terrifies Zoey to admit how much is a blank to her. Controlled, meticulous Zoey is quickly losing her grip on the all-important details of her life—a life that seems strangely empty of Brandon, and strangely full of Doug. -summary from goodreads.com
Three words- Hot hot hot!

Meet 17 year old Zoey; works as a lifeguard and has a full plate at home with a depressed mom and a dad who doesn’t give a shit. She’s always been such a “good girl”, but after a horrible incident that involves her mother, Zoey throws all logic out the window and gives into temptation. This is where the trouble begins; she wakes up the next day and cant remember a thing. And noooo…. This isn’t a story about a girl getting so drunk she can’t remember what happens, It’s SO MUCH more than that. It turns out that Zoey gets in a car accident, and as a side effect from bumping her head so hard, she gets amnesia.

From what I've heard Jennifer Echols has a talent for writing wonderful, swoon-worthy boys and well, Doug Fox is definitely one that stood out to me. He had his problems with being somewhat of an outcast, but we are shown what makes him the defensive yet lovable character that he is. Zoey on the other hand was very interesting... I found myself rolling my eyes every time she said, “Brandon is my boyfriend”. For a smart girl she was pretty annoying. She has this personality that had been etched into her by others to come off as nothing but perfect and that's what Zoey tried to be. I actually felt bad for her because of everything she had to go through.

Zoey's amnesia from the night of the car accident was a big part of the story. I’ll admit, I couldn’t fit together the pieces of the puzzle. It was a bit hard to figure out what had happened that night. It was still interesting to see how Zoey handled everything as she slowly starts to figure out what happened. I enjoyed seeing the relationship between Zoey and Doug develop and how they kind of break out of these shells they placed each other in.

Overall, I’m so glad I decided to pick up yet another YA contemporary… It’s time to break out of my comfort zone :)haha! Forget you is a quick, fun, but at times emotional read- that will have you guessing till the end. Seriously! I didn’t expect that little story twist at the end. I literally said out loud, “Wtf? No way!” - I think it’s safe to say I have a new YA Contempt fav author.

Review: Anna and the French Kiss

Title: Anna and the French Kiss
Author: Stephanie Perkins

Publisher: Dutton
Pages: 372
Challenge: None


My Rating:

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 Étienne St. Claire: 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.  -summary from goodreads.com

Such a wonderful contemporary YA read. I don’t think I’ve read one bad review on Anna and the French Kiss and this review wont be any different! The story follows eighteen-year-old Anna Oliphant who is sent off to SOAP (School of America in Paris) by her father in a ridiculous show of his newly found “author money”. Here she befriends a new group of classmates and meets the handsome Etienne St. Clair.
I really liked Anna. What I loved best about her, were her realistic traits; Anna is sometimes witty, sometimes smart, sometimes annoying. She’s not notably remarkable at anything, she’s clumsy, and she’s terrible at French. But I loved her persona and I admired how she continued to motivate herself even after her parents pretty much abandoned her in France.

Now, onto St. Claire…. I’ll admit, in the beginning I was a bit hesitant about liking him because he was totally leading Anna on, AND HE ALREADY HAD A GF! But then you learn about his relationship and how its unhealthy, unstable and tearing him apart…. *sigh* St. Clair is full of flaws, which makes him all that more real.

Overall, Anna and the French Kiss is a story about figuring out how to be good to your friends, your parents and yourself. Ms. Perkins was able to perfectly portray how important some people are in life, and how terrible it is to hurt those you love. This book is great on so many levels.

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