Review: Autoboyography by Christina Lauren

Autoboyography by Christina Lauren

Published September 12, 2017 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Synopsis:
Fangirl meets Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda in this funny and poignant coming-of-age novel from New York Times bestselling author Christina Lauren about two boys who fall in love in a writing class—one from a progressive family and the other from a conservative religious community.

Three years ago, Tanner Scott’s family relocated from California to Utah, a move that nudged the bisexual teen temporarily back into the closet. Now, with one semester of high school to go, and no obstacles between him and out-of-state college freedom, Tanner plans to coast through his remaining classes and clear out of Utah.

But when his best friend Autumn dares him to take Provo High’s prestigious Seminar—where honor roll students diligently toil to draft a book in a semester—Tanner can’t resist going against his better judgment and having a go, if only to prove to Autumn how silly the whole thing is. Writing a book in four months sounds simple. Four months is an eternity.

It turns out, Tanner is only partly right: four months is a long time. After all, it takes only one second for him to notice Sebastian Brother, the Mormon prodigy who sold his own Seminar novel the year before and who now mentors the class. And it takes less than a month for Tanner to fall completely in love with him.

Review:
I have a love-hate relationship with Christina Lauren's books. It's a bit like a bag of Lays potato chips. You know you really shouldn't eat more than one, but you can't just eat one, and in a few moments, the entire bag has been devoured and you feel full of fat and sodium. Meaning, I find myself compelled to keep reading, even as part of my mind loudly shouts, "noooo!" This is partly because in many of their (Christina Lauren is the combined pen name of longtime writing partners Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings) novels, insta-lust is often described as love. I don't believe in insta-love, so I can't get behind fundamental premises of their books.

That said, Autoboyography is their first YA novel and it is well done. It's their best work so far. There's the signature insta-lust, but there's also stuttering steps towards intimacy as both Tanner and Sebastian risk vulnerability to get to know each other better. When Tanner says he's fallen in love with Sebastian, it's believable because it's been earned. The all-consuming swooning and distraction over a crush is captured so well, as is the discussion of faith and religion. There's complexity and nuance to how Mormonism is described, and side characters - Tanner's best friend Autumn, and his parents, are also complex, nuanced, and just plain awesome. There were genuine moments where my heart ached, and moments where I wasn't sure where the plot was heading. Ultimately, though, I find the book hopeful and charming, such that at the end, I was on a bubbly high. This is a delightful read.

Rating: 5 stars

Review: Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett

Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett

Published April 4, 2017 by Simon Pulse

Synopsis:
In this delightfully charming teen spin on You’ve Got Mail, the one guy Bailey Rydell can’t stand is actually the boy of her dreams—she just doesn’t know it yet.

Classic movie buff Bailey “Mink” Rydell has spent half of her junior year falling for a sensitive film geek she only knows online as “Alex.” Two coasts separate them until she moves in with her dad, who lives in the same California surfing town as her online crush.

Faced with doubts (what if he’s a creep—or worse?), Bailey doesn’t tell Alex she’s moved to his hometown. Or that she’s landed a job at the local tourist trap, the oddball Cavern Palace Museum. Or that she’s being tormented daily by Porter Roth, a smart-alecky yet irritatingly hot museum security guard. But when Porter and Bailey are locked in the museum overnight, Bailey is forced to choose whether she should cling to a dreamy fantasy in Alex or take a risk on an imperfect reality with Porter. The choice is both simpler and more complicated than she realizes, because Porter Roth is hiding a secret of his own: Porter is Alex. Approximately.

Review:
True to the synopsis, this is an absolutely delightful, charming novel that is well done on so many levels - writing, plot, and characterization. I finished reading feeling happy, and we can always use some happy.

The tone and dialogue is on point. Jenn Bennett is hilarious. Case in point, Bailey day dreaming about meeting her online friend and crush, Alex: "He’ll be wonderful, and by the end of the summer, we’ll be crazy in love, watching North by Northwest at the film festival on the beach, and I’ll have my hands all over him. Which is what I spend a lot of my free time imagining myself doing to his virtual body, the lucky boy."

The plot is also realistic, following Bailey as she gets settled into her new town and new job the summer before her senior year. Romantic scenes are handled skillfully, making it appropriate for younger ages, as in Bailey's description of making out with her boyfriend, "...time to park at Lovers Point Park and watch the sunset behind the cypress trees as the waves crashed over the beach. Or, in our case, not watch the sunset. Which is what we ended up doing. A lot." Bennett is also sex positive, emphasizes a healthy, consensual relationship, while also capturing the teenage nerves of exploring new territory.

Bennett's novel is a love letter to California and it's surf culture and cinematic ties, and it's reflected in the diversity of characters. I'm so glad that there are more and more novels that reflect the world as it is. Alex is an interracial cutie and Bailey's new best friend, Grace, is Nigerian-British-American. There are people of color, but that's not their defining characteristic. Bennett also introduces the many multicultural foods that are readily available in California, but perhaps less familiar to readers: churros, posole, and jolof. Her descriptions of the fictional town of Coronado Cove, based on Santa Cruz, are vivid. Each chapter is proceeded by an very apt quote from a film. An altogether enchanting book, this is one of my top reads this summer.

Rating: 5 Stars

Review: Fitness Junkie by Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza

Fitness Junkie by Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza

Published July 11, 2017 by Doubleday

Synopsis:
When Janey Sweet, CEO of a couture wedding dress company, is photographed in the front row of a fashion show eating a bruffin—the delicious lovechild of a brioche and a muffin—her best friend and business partner, Beau, gives her an ultimatum: Lose thirty pounds or lose your job. Sure, Janey has gained some weight since her divorce, and no, her beautifully cut trousers don't fit like they used to, so Janey throws herself headlong into the world of the fitness revolution, signing up for a shockingly expensive workout pass, baring it all for Free the Nipple yoga, sweating through boot camp classes run by Sri Lankan militants and spinning to the screams of a Lycra-clad instructor with rage issues. At a juice shop she meets Jacob, a cute young guy who takes her dumpster-diving outside Whole Foods on their first date. At a shaman's tea ceremony she meets Hugh, a silver fox who holds her hand through an ayahuasca hallucination And at a secret exercise studio Janey meets Sara Strong, the wildly popular workout guru whose special dance routine has starlets and wealthy women flocking to her for results that seem too good to be true. As Janey eschews delicious carbs, pays thousands of dollars to charlatans, and is harassed by her very own fitness bracelet, she can't help but wonder: Did she really need to lose weight in the first place? A hilarious send-up of the health and wellness industry, Fitness Junkie is a glorious romp through the absurd landscape of our weight-obsessed culture.

Review:
This is a fun read that reminds me of Crazy Rich Asians - the white New Yorkers ladies-that-lunch version. Janey is a likable character, a successful business woman who is reeling more from her breakup with her gay best friend and business partner, Beau, than from the end of her marriage to her husband. Beau demands that she lose thirty pounds, or else she'll lose her job. Incredulity ensues as Janey tries all the latest fitness fads, and those that roll their eyes at Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop newsletter will appreciate the satire of the appearance-obsessed crazy rich, who willingly cough up thousands of dollars to try the latest workout and diet regimens. Janey's romances with Jacob and Hugh are charming and enjoyable as she figures out who she is without Beau as her anchor. The end does wrap up rather too neatly and quickly, but, like a frothy pink cocktail, makes a good accompaniment to a lounge chair on a sunny day.

I received a review copy through NetGalley.

Rating: 3 Stars

Review: The Shameless Hour (Ivy Years #4) by Sarina Bowen

The Shameless Hour (Ivy Years #4) by Sarina Bowen

Published April 12, 2015 by Rennie Road Books

Synopsis:

She's not looking for a hero. He's not looking for a hookup.

For Bella, the sweet-talking, free-loving, hip-checking student manager of the Harkness men’s hockey team, sex is a second language. She’s used to being fluent where others stutter, and the things people say behind her back don’t (often) bother her. So she can’t understand why her smoking hot downstairs neighbor has so much trouble staying friends after their spontaneous night together. She knows better than to worry about it, but there’s something in those espresso eyes that makes her second guess herself.

Rafe is appalled with himself for losing his virginity in a drunken hookup. His strict Catholic upbringing always emphasized loving thy neighbor—but not with a bottle of wine and a box of condoms. The result is an Ivy League bout of awkwardness. But when Bella is leveled by a little bad luck and a downright nasty fraternity stunt, it’s Rafe who is there to pick up the pieces.

Bella doesn’t want Rafe's help, and she’s through with men. Too bad the undeniable spark that crackles between the two of them just can't be extinguished.

Review:
Sarina Bowen is one of my favorite contemporary romance authors, and her Ivy Years series is a great New Adult series because of how deftly she addresses current issues in a college setting, and this is my favorite book of the series because she turns so many stereotypes on its head: you have a sex-positive female (Bella) who doesn't pay much attention to her appearance; and a virgin male (Rafael, Rafe for short) who works in the school cafeteria, but whose masculinity and desirability is never once questioned. Bella's closet friends are members of the men's hockey team at the elite New England college which she attends. But when she's the victim of sexual harassment, she finds herself ashamed from turning to her friends. Her neighbors, Rafe, all-around-good-guy, and reclusive celebrity Lianne, step in when they see she's not okay.

Issues like sexual assault, double standards in rape culture, and shame are addressed well, although the thread of the challenges faced by first-generation minority students in elite higher education is left hanging. The rapport that develops between Bella and Lianne is hilarious, and there's a delightfully empowering scene where Bella gets retribution for a misdeed done against her.

Overall, this is an enjoyable read that challenges gender expectations and our attitudes towards sex and shame, and also authentically captures college life in America.

Rating: 5 Stars

Review: Broken Beauty Novellas by Lizzy Ford

 

Broken Beauty (#1, Broken Beauty Novellas) by Lizzy Ford

Published February 3rd 2017 by Lizzy Ford

Broken World (#2) available on WattPad

Broken Chains (#3) available on Radish Reading

Broken Beauty Synopsis:
Just a broken girl in her broken world.

When socialite party girl Mia Abbott-Renou wakes up in a garden she has little recall of the previous night -- except that she is naked...hurt...terrified. Not only has she been raped, but she knows one of her assailants: the son of a wealthy politician who happens to be her own father’s political ally.

Mia wants and needs justice. Except this privileged boy has an alibi and her father forbids her from going to the police. It’s a critical election year, one that his party might lose if his image as a doting father is soured due to Mia being labeled a lush or worse, promiscuous.

Devastated at not having the support of her family, Mia finds herself in a tug-of-war with her conscience over what to do, especially since she can’t remember exactly what happened that night. Worse, the men who attacked her have hurt several other girls, and Mia may be the key to stopping them.

Mia tries to forget, until the unthinkable happens, and she’s left reeling once again, faced with a new challenge that will force her to take more control of her life.

Broken World Synopsis:
A confrontation is brewing …

Mia realizes the aftermath of her rape is not over when she is rocked by another challenge, one that will put her publicly at odds with her father, a U.S. Senator who has made her the poster child for his re-election. But the public face he wants her to wear can’t be farther from who she is inside.

The latest rape victim is expected to die soon, and only Mia can identify the attackers. With pressure from the police to come forward, Mia is distraught when her father forbids her from speaking out.

She is surprised to discover new allies in her siblings, who break ranks with her father to support her. But even they have their own agenda.

Before Mia turns eighteen, she’ll face the ultimate choice: betraying her family or her conscience.

Broken Chains Synopsis:
The truth will set her free...

But first, it might suffocate her.

After a brief reprieve and a quiet birthday, Mia once more becomes the center of media attention. This time it's because the charges against her rapist go public - before Mia and her team are ready/ Thrust into intense publi cscrutiny again, Mia is faced with a new difficulty from the direction of her father, who follows through with his threats and forever alters the dynamics of her world.

Her desperate need to be loved by her father is crushed once and for all. But it's the great family secret she discovers that offers her the first piece of real hope she's experienced since the incident. For the first time in months, she's starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel - and that light includes Dom.

All she has to do is survive the trial - and a terrifying confrontation with Robert Connor.

Review:
Broken Beauty is, as far as I understand, a revision of a previously published work under the same title. This is not a novella, nor even a short story, as there is no structure - we are introduced to the main character, Mia, and the plot starts off with conflict, but there is no character arc. It is, instead, a sampler of a longer work that ends at the end of an inciting incident, when the reader might think that Mia is finally going to see some character development.

I do think the story deserves credit for addressing rape, the recovery process, as well as rape culture. Ford excels at description, particularly the movements of people, but I thought there was sometimes too much description and not enough of moving the plot forward.

I do think this series has potential, and "Novella" #2 (available on WattPad) definitely is a stronger work than the first in the series, with actual character development. I enjoyed the strong friendship between Mia and her best friend, Ari, as well as witnessing Mia's relationship with her uncle, Chris, develop. Unfortunately, the most interesting characters are Chris, uncle and lawyer extraordinaire, and Dom, police officer to the rescue. Mia is rather...bland.

I understand that she's been sheltered, hidden, and purposely trained to view herself as a possession or a prop her entire life, but her steps towards agency are rather limited. There's also not much of a sense of her personality. She is described as sporty, one who enjoys playing basketball and soccer, but I was surprised when I read that she was one of the co-leaders of the cheer team, since as someone who professes to like physical activity, she didn't think of exercising as a way to relieve stress until suggested by someone else.

The narrative finally reaches a conclusion in "Novella" #3, which was released on the Radish app, a mobile app for serialized fiction, where you can read the rest of the narrative chapter-by-chapter on a weekly basis, or all at once for a nominal amount through the purchase of coins (the number of coins purchased at once determines the cost per coin). As an aside, I liked the layout and design of the Radish app, but found the works there to be of vary quality - mostly middling.

Unfortunately, the plot doesn't really go anywhere for 7 of the 8 chapters. Overall, Mia just comes across as a boring young woman of privilege with a too quick, too neat wrapping up of a conclusion. I don't need likable characters, but I do need characters who make more of an effort. Perhaps being released on the Radish platform contributed to the problems in "Novella" 3, since the serialization of works prevents a big picture edit.

I received a copy of the Broken Beauty "novella" through NetGalley in exchange for a review.

Rating:
2 stars (Broken Beauty)
3 stars (Broken World)

Review: Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han

Always and Forever, Lara Jean (To All the Boys I've Loved Before Book 3) by Jenny Han

Published May 2, 2017 by Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers

Synposis:

Lara Jean’s letter-writing days aren’t over in this surprise follow-up to the New York Times bestselling To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and P.S. I Still Love You.

Lara Jean is having the best senior year a girl could ever hope for. She is head over heels in love with her boyfriend, Peter; her dad’s finally getting remarried to their next door neighbor, Ms. Rothschild; and Margot’s coming home for the summer just in time for the wedding.

But change is looming on the horizon. And while Lara Jean is having fun and keeping busy helping plan her father’s wedding, she can’t ignore the big life decisions she has to make. Most pressingly, where she wants to go to college and what that means for her relationship with Peter. She watched her sister Margot go through these growing pains. Now Lara Jean’s the one who’ll be graduating high school and leaving for college and leaving her family—and possibly the boy she loves—behind.

When your heart and your head are saying two different things, which one should you listen to?

Review:

Lara Jean returns in this charming conclusion to the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before series, retaining many of the characteristics that I loved in the first two novels: a focus on family relationships (particularly that between sisters), Lara Jean's romantic optimism, seamless interweaving of Lara Jean's Korean-American heritage, astute observations of teen life, and well-developed characters, both primary and secondary. But, this last book is even better with a more mature and self-aware Lara Jean, such as this observation after a fight with her boyfriend, Peter Kavinsky: "I’m petty enough to be glad he’s not enjoying himself anymore."

The writing is the clearest of the series, with less contrivances in the plot, and characters, while complex, that also behave true to themselves.

Lara Jean shows her maturity by consciously appreciating the present instead of being caught up in the romance of the past:

When I’m old and gray, I will look back on this night, and I will remember it just as it was. Is. We’re still here. 

It’s not the future yet.

The greatest pleasures of the book, are how deftly Han captures the excitement and uncertainty of the transition from high school graduation to adult life, whether it be attending college or taking a gap year, and the bonds of sisterhood.

Lara Jean frets about the results of her college applications:

"I’ve done everything I’m supposed to do, but will it be enough? At this point, all I can do is wait, and hope. And hope and hope."

Or, on choosing from her college acceptances:

"What if I came here and I ended up loving it? What if, after a year, I didn’t want to leave? What then? But wouldn’t it be great if I loved it? Isn’t that the whole point? Why bet on not loving a place? Why not take a chance and bet on happiness?

The simultaneously hopeful and retrospective tone perfectly encapsulates how many of my graduating students must feel, year after year. Additionally, just like the best part of Frozen was the relationship between Elsa and Anna, Always and Forever, Lara Jean is at it's strongest in the scenes between Lara Jean and sisters Margot and Kitty. Lara Jean observes, "Because of my big sister, the grief I felt about growing up was less acute."

Lara Jean places those bonds of sisterhood above every other relationship, describing how she feels love and relief when Peter promises her younger sister that they will still be friends even if she and Peter break up, knowing that her sister will be cared for, and how touched she is that Peter always takes Margot's side: "Of course he should take her side. It’s his job to take her side. It shows that he gets how important her good opinion is to me, and he gets the place she has in my life."

Also joyful to see was Lara Jean and her best friend Chrissy. They're very different, in personality, lifestyle, and choices, but they making being a support for each other a priority and there's genuine respect and acceptance of each other for who they are. I think this book, a very easy read, is a satisfying end to the series. Finally, as a college counselor, I am relieved that Jenny Han got every part of the college admissions process right.

Rating: 5 stars

Review: On Point by Annabeth Albert

 

On Point by Annabeth Albert

Published June 5, 2017 by Carina Press

Synopsis:
Never fall for your best friend…

Pushing thirty, with his reenlistment looming, decorated navy sniper Maddox Horvat is taking a long look at what he really wants in life. And what he wants is Ben Tovey. It isn't smart, falling for his best friend and fellow SEAL, but ten years with Ben has forged a bond so intimate Maddox can't ignore it. He needs Ben by his side forever—heart and soul.

Ben admits he likes what he's seen—his friend's full lower lip and the perfect muscles of his ass have proved distracting more than once. But Ben's still reeling from a relationship gone to hell, and he's not about to screw up his friendship with Maddox, too.

Until their next mission throws Ben and Maddox closer together than ever before, with only each other to depend on.

Now, in the lonely, desperate hours awaiting rescue, the real challenge—confronting themselves, their future and their desires—begins. Man to man, friend to friend, lover to lover.

Review:
It's Pride Month! So, in honor of this month, and conveniently out today is On Point. Annabeth Albert is one of my favorite authors who writes LGBTQ stories because:

• I read to escape, but it also has to be relatable. Thus, I prefer contemporary to historical and fantasy novels, and I like my characters ordinary, that is, no crazy rich people with model-perfect bodies, thank you. 
• Albert's characters are normal, real people; they have jobs that they actually have to work at, are sometimes challenging, and realistically portrayed. Sometimes they have work-life balance struggles, they're smart, and sometimes (charmingly) geeky. They're flawed but on the whole deal with their issues like adults.
• Conflict is organic to situational circumstances, not manufactured melodrama. The characters, through growth and communication, come to solutions together.
• There's no one person saving the other; character growth is internal, though the motivation to grow comes from love and affection.
• The writing is good, too.

This is my favorite of the "Out of Uniform" series so far, featuring my favorite trope, friends-to-lovers. You have sweet, gentle Maddox and his ball-of-energy Ben. They're opposites, and have been best friends since their Navy SEAL training. Yet, despite their personality differences, both have incredible respect for each other.

The book starts off with the natural drama of a mission gone wrong, and there's nothing like a near-death situation for Ben to acknowledge his feelings for his best friends and for Maddox to realize what he wants out of life for himself. The best friends accept each other as they are, and there's never a sense that they want the other to change their essential selves. Rather, each worries that they're not enough for each other. Ultimately, it's a very romantic and sweet story about two people whose shared history means deep feelings for each other having to overcome their insecurities to get their happily-ever-after.

I received an advance reading copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 4 stars

Review: Riot School by Robert Rayner

Riot School by Robert Rayner

Published August 22, 2016 by Lorimer

Synopsis:
In the middle of the night, five teens break into a small town high school that has been closed by the regional school board. They are there to protest the decision to move them to a big city school and make their little town that much smaller. Led by Bilan, whose experience with the Arab Spring fired a passion to peacefully fight against injustice, the Gang of Five occupy their old school. The local police chief and the town quietly cheer them on. When the school board calls in a big security firm to break up their occupation using any means necessary, including force, the five have to decide how far they will go to show their outrage at having no control over decisions that affect their lives.

This is a novel which picks up on themes drawn from the world around us, and shows how these can play out in the lives of contemporary young people.

Review:
This book had a lot of potential with an interesting and diverse cast of characters. You have Bilan, the articulate and persuasive leader of this group of teens, her boyfriend Arn - angry at his father's incarceration, Grant - son of one of the town's council members, Barlow - the petty teen thief who also seems to be the school's most compassionate person, and Lettie - the homeless teen. With these different characters, there could've been some interesting character arcs but I was left feeling a lot of threads were left unfinished.

I wasn't sure of the purpose of narrative - if the author wanted to encourage students to speak up and have a voice, he wasn't very successful at it. I was left feeling like young people don't really have a voice, and the actions of unsympathetic adults lead to drug abuse and anarchists. And, I find hard to believe that these students, as articulate as they were, wouldn't have been more media savvy in increasing attention for their cause. All in all, this was a frustrating read.

I received a review copy through NetGalley.

Rating: 2 stars

Review: Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

 

Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

Published June 1, 2009 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Synopsis:
"Don't worry, Anna. I'll tell her, okay? Just let me think about the best way to do it."
"Okay."
"Promise me? Promise you won't say anything?"
"Don't worry." I laughed. "It's our secret, right?"

According to her best friend Frankie, twenty days in Zanzibar Bay is the perfect opportunity to have a summer fling, and if they meet one boy ever day, there's a pretty good chance Anna will find her first summer romance. Anna lightheartedly agrees to the game, but there's something she hasn't told Frankie---she's already had that kind of romance, and it was with Frankie's older brother, Matt, just before his tragic death one year ago.

Beautifully written and emotionally honest, this is a debut novel that explores what it truly means to love someone and what it means to grieve, and ultimately, how to make the most of every single moment this world has to offer.

Review:
The title of this novel is unfortunate because when I first saw it on the (electronic) shelves of my library, it seemed to be a light bit of summer fluff. In actuality, this is a beautifully written rumination on death, grief, and love - romantic, friendship, and familial, as well as a coming of age story, and an ode to the ocean and summers spent by them.

Anna, the narrator, had long loved her male best friend, Matt, big brother to her female best friend, Frankie. On her birthday, the summer before the start of tenth grade, Matt kisses her, and thus begins a whirlwind secret relationship. Matt asks her to keep the relationship quiet, until he can figure out a way to tell Frankie/ Ockler captures the wonder and excitement of a new relationship:

"Does he like me, or was he just messing around? Will it happen again? How do we tell Frankie? Why did he say it’s our secret?"

Unfortunately, Matt dies in a car accident before he can tell Frankie. and Anna struggles with grieving his death and her competing commitments to her two best friends. The following summer, Anna joins Frankie and her parents at their annual beach holiday. It's the family's first trip without Matt, and there are poignant observations of how a family adjusts to a new reality. Simultaneously, boy-crazy Frankie thinks the trip is an excellent opportunity for Anna to lose her "albatross," aka virginity, and Anna's thoughts perfectly capture a teen wrestling with whether or not to reach this milestone:

"The whole idea of losing one’s virginity is kind of ridiculous. To lose something implies carelessness. A mistake that you can fix simply by recovering the lost object, like your cell phone or your glasses. Virginity is more like shedding something than losing it."

The writing is excellent, the dialogue snappy, the observations sharp. The heavy topic is lightened with by Anna's delightful voice, with her dry repartee with boy-crazy Frankie:

“Anna, no one will notice us if we’re wandering around in old-lady clothes. They’ll think we’re pregnant or something.”
“Rather than wanting to get us pregnant?”
“Exactly.”

Additionally, the educator in me appreciates the subtle vocabulary lessons:

“Don’t worry. He already said you can go. You just need to do some — oh, what’s that thing called — envisionation, I think.”
“Envisionation?” I ask.
“You know, where you think about the thing you want and just picture yourself getting it?” “Visualization, Frankie, and it’s not gonna work.”

I really enjoyed this book - this is one where I cried in some moments (and I'm generally not a crier) and laughed out loud in others. Oh and Sam? He makes the perfect summer (book) boyfriend.

Rating: 4 Stars

Review: Long Way Home by Katie McGarry

Long Way Home by Katie McGarry

Published January 31, 2017 by Harlequin Teen

Synopsis:
Seventeen-year-old Violet has always been expected to sit back and let the boys do all the saving.

It’s the code her father, a member of the Reign of Terror motorcycle club, raised her to live by. Yet when her dad is killed carrying out Terror business, Violet knows it’s up to her to do the saving. To protect herself, and her vulnerable younger brother, she needs to cut all ties with the club—including Chevy, the boy she’s known and loved her whole life.

But when a rival club comes after Violet, exposing old secrets and making new threats, she’s forced to question what she thought she knew about her father, the Reign of Terror, and what she thinks she wants. Which means re-evaluating everything: love, family, friends . . . and forgiveness.

Caught in the crosshairs between loyalty and freedom, Violet must decide whether old friends can be trusted—and if she’s strong enough to be the one person to save them all.

Review:
One of the many pleasures of reading is the opportunity to discover new worlds; that certainly is the case with Katie McGarry's books which has introduced me to life set in rural and small-town Kentucky, certainly different from my childhood spent in metropolitan Los Angeles and adulthood spent in urban Boston and Taipei. I've also learned about how it is to be raised in the foster system (Pushing the Limits), growing up with an drug-addicted parent (Dare You To), street racing and drag racing (Crash Into You), homelessness (Take Me On), and life as a drug dealer (Chasing Impossible). In all of her books, McGarry's protagonists struggle against being defined by their circumstances.

Katie McGarry's Thunder Road series centers around a motorcycle club, and Long Way Home is the third and last book of the series. Though each of the books in the series features strong female characters, both primary and secondary, I have struggled with understanding the Reign of Terror motorcycle club's attitude towards women and the role they play within the club. It's a fraternal organization in a patriarchal society, and while the men portrayed certainly love their female partners, women are literally not allowed a seat at decision-making table. In previous installments in the series, female characters worked around this structure to influence situations they weren't happy with.

Violet is perhaps McGarry's strongest female character yet, one is able to most clearly articulate what she believes is wrong about the structure and advocate for agency in her life. The daughter of a member of the club's leadership team, she blames the club for her father's death. As an insider who has now purposefully placed herself on the outside, this unique vantage point gives her a more insightful perspective of the club. Much of the arc of the novel is the conflict between Violet, her love Chevy, and the club's leader Eli as they struggle to balance the desire to protect out of love, with realizing that protection can be disempowering. At one point, Violet reflects, "I hate his way of caring, though. Hate how he controls. But how can you fully hate someone who does all the stupid things because that’s the way he loves?"

At the same time, Violet is not afraid to call out double-standards: "“Is that what I am? A traitor? When you protect your family, it’s called being an upstanding member of the club, but when I do it, I’m a traitor?”

Because Violet's not afraid to speak the truth and push against what she sees as inherent unfairness, Chevy and Eli also come away with a greater understanding of how to love in a empowering and respectful way. For these reasons, this is my favorite book of the series.

Rating: 4 Stars

Review: Transphobia: Deal with it and be a gender transcender by j wallace skelton

Transphobia: Deal with it and be a gender transcender by j wallace skelton

Published January 15, 2017 by Lorimer Publishing

Synopsis:
Who do you think you are? Part of identity is how people experience their gender. Transphobia is intolerance of any part of the range of gender identity. This accessible, illustrated book offers information, quizzes, comics and true-to-life scenarios to help kids better understand gender identity and determine what they can do to identify and counter transphobia in their schools, homes and communities. Considered from the viewpoint of gender challengers, gender enforcers and witnesses, transphobic behavior is identified, examined and put into a context that kids can use to understand and accept themselves and others for whatever gender they are—even if that's no gender at all!

Review:
This is an excellent introduction to gender identity and expression, aimed at middle school grades and above, with comics, examples, quizzes, and lists of do's and don'ts that challenge readers to question assumptions about gender and sex, stereotypes, and the use of pronouns or chosen names. A short and accessible book, the illustrations take care to show diversity in gender, ethnicity, and abilities and the back of the book has links to further resources, such as helplines, other books, and organizations - though the information is Canadian-oriented, given that the publisher is Canadian. Transphobia: Deal with it is a timely guide that should be in every library, and also makes a great starting point in the classroom for discussions on gender (the publisher has a free teaching guide online).

I was given a electronic ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, thus the formatting of the comics and sidebar information was off, making following along with the accompanying text difficult. At present only a print edition is available for purchase.

Rating: 3 Stars

Review: The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler

The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler

Published May 10, 2011 by Candlewick

Synopsis:
Fifteen-year-old Virginia Shreves has a larger-than-average body and a plus-size inferiority complex, especially when she compares herself to her slim, brilliant, picture-perfect family. But that’s before a shocking phone call — and a horrifying allegation — about her rugby-star brother changes everything. With irreverent humor and surprising gravity, Carolyn Mackler creates an endearingly blunt heroine who speaks to every teen who struggles with family expectations, and proves that the most impressive achievement is to be true to yourself.

Review:
Young adults may find this book, originally published in 2003 and before the advent of smartphones, technologically quaint (teens write emails and speak to each other over the phone!). However, the voice of Virginia Shreves is still contemporary and spot-on, as she struggles to reconcile her body size, her best friend's move across the country, a potential romantic interest, and the recognition that other people may not be who they appear to be. The book also touches upon issues of eating disorders, self harm, and date rape, some more lightly than others. While the pacing is uneven (in the middle of the book, I wanted to shout, "I get it! Some people around her treat her really poorly!"), ultimately the novel ends on an uplifting note, and teens should find the narrative relatable and realistic.

Rating: 4 Stars

Review: Yes Please by Amy Poehler

 

Yes Please by Amy Poehler

Published October 28, 2014 by Dey Street Books

Synopsis:
Do you want to get to know the woman we first came to love on Comedy Central's Upright Citizens Brigade? Do you want to spend some time with the lady who made you howl with laughter on Saturday Night Live, and in movies like Baby Mama, Blades of Glory, and They Came Together? Do you find yourself daydreaming about hanging out with the actor behind the brilliant Leslie Knope on Parks and Recreation? Did you wish you were in the audience at the last two Golden Globes ceremonies, so you could bask in the hilarity of Amy's one-liners?

If your answer to these questions is "Yes Please!" then you are in luck. In her first book, one of our most beloved funny folk delivers a smart, pointed, and ultimately inspirational read. Full of the comedic skill that makes us all love Amy, Yes Please is a rich and varied collection of stories, lists, poetry (Plastic Surgery Haiku, to be specific), photographs, mantras and advice. With chapters like "Treat Your Career Like a Bad Boyfriend," "Plain Girl Versus the Demon" and "The Robots Will Kill Us All" Yes Please will make you think as much as it will make you laugh. Honest, personal, real, and righteous, Yes Please is full of words to live by.

Review:
I like Amy Poehler. I like that she is unapologetic about her ambition and work ethic, and I appreciate that she acknowledges that competition between women can be healthy and push us to achieve more, but she also isn't about pitting women against each other. I appreciate her honesty, her vulnerability, and her willingness to admit mistakes and speak hard truths. There is a lot to like about this book—the highlights in my Kindle ended up filling 9 pages.

Some favorite highlights:

"So here we go, you and me. Because what else are we going to do? Say no? Say no to an opportunity that may be slightly out of our comfort zone? Quiet our voice because we are worried it is not perfect? I believe great people do things before they are ready."

"It’s called Yes Please because it is the constant struggle and often the right answer. Can we figure out what we want, ask for it, and stop talking? Yes please. Is being vulnerable a power position? Yes please. Am I allowed to take up space? Yes please. Would you like to be left alone? Yes please."

"That is the motto women should constantly repeat over and over again. Good for her! Not for me."

"This essay is about apologies, and I have learned an important part of apologizing is not making excuses." 

"Anger and embarrassment are often neighbors. Sometimes we get defensive about what we feel guilty about." 

"Let’s end by pointing out all the positive ways you can scare yourself and feel alive. You can tell someone you love them first. You can try to speak only the truth for a whole week."

"Either way, we both agreed that ambivalence is key to success. I will say it again. Ambivalence is key. You have to care about your work but not about the result. You have to care about how good you are and how good you feel, but not about how good people think you are or how good people think you look."

"Maya Angelou said, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” I’m proud that Mike Schur and I rejected the idea that creativity needs to come from chaos. I like how we ran our writers’ room and our set. People had a great time when they came to work on our show and that mattered to us."

"Your ability to navigate and tolerate change and its painful uncomfortableness directly correlates to your happiness and general well-being."

"Let me take a minute to say that I love bossy women. Some people hate the word, and I understand how “bossy” can seem like a shitty way to describe a woman with a determined point of view, but for me, a bossy woman is someone to search out and celebrate. A bossy woman is someone who cares and commits and is a natural leader."

Clearly, there are many great observations in this book, and many of her words are especially inspiring at this point in time with current political and social issues. Unfortunately, I found it hard to get engaged in her book. This was a book that I easily read a chapter at a time, instead of devouring like I usually do. Perhaps this is because I've never watched Parks & Recreation, and am unfamiliar with the Upright Citizens Brigade. It's hard to get really engaged when much of the narrative is about media that I'm unfamiliar with. In contrast, I recall Bossypants by Tina Fey to be easier to read, and laugh-out-loud funny, while Yes Please was more of a "yes, that is what the world is like!"

Rating: 3 Stars

Review: Undeclared by Julianna Keyes

 

Undeclared by Julianna Keyes

Published February 27, 2017 by Julianna Keyes

Synopsis:
Kellan McVey is Burnham College’s most prolific athlete, partier, and ladies’ man—and that’s just how he likes it. Returning to reign for his third year, he wants nothing to change. Then Andrea Walsh shows up. 

It wasn’t too long ago that Andi and Kellan were lifelong friends, mortal enemies, and, for one hot summer, more. Then Kellan left and Andi stayed behind. 

Kellan thought he’d moved past that last summer’s heartbreak, but with Andi sitting next to him in class, befriending his friends, and battling for the same once-in-a-lifetime job opportunity, he’s starting to remember why he hated her…and why he loved her. 

Kellan has a long list of reasons that falling for Andi again is a terrible idea, though every new moment together challenges that theory. But Andi’s all too familiar with Kellan’s love ’em and leave ’em approach—and she’s found someone else to get serious about. 

Burnham’s campus king has never had to fight for a girl, but if he wants Andi to give him another chance, he’ll have to do the one thing he’s never had the nerve to do: admit it. 

Review:
Julianna Keyes writes characters who are not always likable, but always complex. In Undecided, one of my favorite books of 2016, we were introduced to the ancillary character Kellan McVey—who, as much as he induced the slapping of palms across foreheads, was also charmingly endearing: at once a big-hearted devoted friend, yet also clueless and self-absorbed. I finished reading Undecided wanting more from the Burnham College universe, and curious how Keyes would tell Kellan's story. What would Kellan's character arc look like, given that he often seemed to have the depth of a espresso cup?

After spending his first two years at Burnham College "living life" until he was diagnosed with an STD and needing the help of a list recorded in a bathroom stall in the student union to identify which of his 63 sexual partners he had contracted the infection from (because in his memory, many of his partners were nameless and even faceless), he decides to become "Kellan 2.0. All the fun, none of the gonorrhea" when he runs into his childhood best friend and rival, Andi, on campus. Undeclared is a second chance romance between these two, but the focus of the novel is on Kellan acknowledging his feelings for Andi as he wrestles with the age-old college quandary of figuring out who he is and who he wants to be in relation to who he thinks he should be, and less on the actual rapport between the couple.

On a side note, the secondary characters are great, particularly the storyline involving Kellan's good friend, Choo. While at first I thought it was a rare miss by Julianna Keyes at naming a character, in the end, her handling of his name and character was spot on—I'm sure her experience living in China informed this hilarious sub-narrative. Keyes is an astute observer of life, which is seen in this introspective yet funny portrayal of college life.

Rating: 4 Stars

Review: Unrequited Alice by Sarah Louise Smith

Unrequited Alice by Sarah Louise Smith

Published March 16, 2017 by Crooked Cat Books

Synopsis: 
A Bridesmaid really shouldn’t be in the love with the groom…

I stared at my suitcase, contemplating the following three facts:

After months of planning, it was finally time for Hannah’s hen weekend.
In just one more month, she’d be getting married to Ed.
I really had to fall out of love with Ed before the wedding.

A bridesmaid really shouldn’t be in love with the groom… but Alice just can’t help herself. Ed is her perfect man, and she can’t get him out of her head.

Until she meets Toby – who offers to help her move on. But what if he’s just setting her up for an even bigger fall?

Review:
In Chinese there is a concept called yuan fen (緣份), defined as "predestined affinity or relationship" - yuan (緣) means "fate" while fen (份) means "a share or a portion." While often used to describe romantic relationships, this concept that "two people can be drawn inexorably together through an innate connection in the universe" applies to any relationship--and the focus is always on the bond which draws two people together, not what they may be fated to accomplish together. There's also the related expression you yuan mei you fen (有緣沒有份), indicating that two people may be fated to have attraction to each other, but not have the destiny for the relationship to continue for the rest of their lives.

All this to say that Unrequited Alice is an exploration of yuan fen -- Alice clearly has yuan with Ed and Toby, but which one does she actually have yuan fen? What I liked about the novel is that Alice is very much aware that she ought to get over her extended crush on Ed, that it's not good for her sense of self or for her relationship with her oldest friend, but the novel also acknowledges the very real emotional and physical response one has to people in our lives. Yet despite sometimes finding herself in sticky situations, Alice always acts with grace and self-awareness. Sometimes there is a connection between people, but one or the other isn't emotionally available at the right time or there are physical obstacles to a relationship; relationships can be complicated!

What didn't work for me was some of the dialogue, which sometimes had a character speak overly long and thus came across as unauthentic. In real life, exchanges between people are often shorter, with pauses of breath and interruptions, and so I found often it jarring, taking me out of the narrative. To be fair, though, this may be a owing to the author and characters being British, whose speaking patterns are different from Americans.

Rating: 3 Stars

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.