4 owls Archives - The Busy Bibliophile

Review: Nantucket Blue by Leila Howland

Title: Nantucket Blue
Author: Leila Howland
Publisher: May 7th 2013 by Disney Hyperion
Format: Hardcover, 304 pages
Source: Publisher
4 owls

Summary

For Cricket Thompson, a summer like this one will change everything. A summer spent on Nantucket with her best friend, Jules Clayton, and the indomitable Clayton family. A summer when she’ll make the almost unattainable Jay Logan hers. A summer to surpass all dreams.

Some of this turns out to be true. Some of it doesn’t.

When Jules and her family suffer a devastating tragedy that forces the girls apart, Jules becomes a stranger whom Cricket wonders whether she ever really knew. And instead of lying on the beach working on her caramel-colored tan, Cricket is making beds and cleaning bathrooms to support herself in paradise for the summer.

But it’s the things Cricket hadn’t counted on–most of all, falling hard for someone who should be completely off-limits–that turn her dreams into an exhilarating, bittersweet reality.

A beautiful future is within her grasp, and Cricket must find the grace to embrace it. If she does, her life could be the perfect shade of Nantucket blue.

My thoughts

Jules and Cricket are besties, so much so that Cricket spends most of her time at Jules’s house. Cricket’s mom is a depressed divorcée, and Jules’ family is so welcoming and warm. Her parents and younger brother all consider Cricket part of the family, and when Jules’ invites Cricket to spend the summer with them in Nantucket, Cricket jumps at the chance to get away from her mom and live her own life.

Cricket was a sweet girl. She tried hard to be a good daughter, and in fact, did a fabulous job of it. Her mother was still depressed after her divorce, even though Cricket’s father had moved on and remarried, and Cricket had pretty much become the mother figure. She took care of her mom, made sure she ate and tried to come up with activities to help get her out of the house. Cricket was mature for her age, mostly thanks to her mom, and though she had every right to be angry, she wasn’t. She was just sad about the situation.

Her bestie Jules seemed like a nice person, but once the devastating tragedy occurred (and it was truly devastating), she almost turned into a completely different person. And not a very nice one. I can understand her sadness and moodiness, but she turned on Cricket in such a mean way, I had trouble forgiving her for it.

Besides the 2 main characters, I loved everyone else: the sassy chambermaid, the kind and observant hotel manager, the harried author… All had their own characteristics and little quirks that made them believable and likable. The dialogue was great, I appreciated how honest Cricket was, even if it was sometimes hard for her. Leila Howland has a gift for saying the most complex things in a simple and understated way; it makes the words seem more powerful.

I enjoyed the setting of Nantucket, Leila Howland did a fabulous job of making me feel like I was there with the girls. The mood and setting were all descriptive and fun. I could picture the beach, the houses and all the little shops. Even the hoity toities who summer there. It was a fun story, as Cricket learned to stand on her own, as she fell in love, as she tried to figure things out with Jules. There was sadness, but there was also funny bits and romance. Speaking of the romance, I really enjoyed it. It was spare, in that there wasn’t a lot of flirting, giggling, and coyness or “Squee, does he like me?!” But it was there and you could feel it and appreciate it for its simplicity.

The novel zips along, and the 3 month summer flies by, then the book’s over before you know it. Although I was happy with the length of the story, and the way it ended, I wanted more! More Cricket and her man, more Liz, more Gavin and more George. Just more.

The sum up

I really liked this book and quite frankly, I’m surprised that this is Howland’s debut novel. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.

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So Many Books, So Little Time | reutreads | Serendipity Reviews

06/20/2013 Filed Under: 4 owls, Beach, Besties, Chemistry, Contemporary, Loss, Mental health, New adult, Sad, Summer, Sweet Leave a Comment

Audio Review: Let’s Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir by Jenny Lawson

Title: Let’s Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir by Jenny Lawson
Author: Jenny Lawson
Narrator: Jenny Lawson
Publisher: April 17th 2012 by Penguin Audio
Format: Audio CD, 8 hrs and 41 mins
Source: Purchased
4 owls

Summary

When Jenny Lawson was little, all she ever wanted was to fit in. That dream was cut short by her fantastically unbalanced father (a professional taxidermist who created dead-animal hand puppets) and a childhood of wearing winter shoes made out of used bread sacks. It did, however, open up an opportunity for Lawson to find the humor in the strange shame spiral that is her life, and we are all the better for it.

Lawson’s long-suffering husband and sweet daughter are the perfect comedic foils to her absurdities, and help her to uncover the surprising discovery that the most terribly human moments-the ones we want to pretend never happened-are the very same moments that make us the people we are today.

Let’s Pretend This Never Happened is a poignantly disturbing, yet darkly hysterical tome for every intellectual misfit who thought they were the only ones to think the things that Lawson dares to say out loud. Like laughing at a funeral, this book is both irreverent and impossible to hold back once you get started.

My thoughts

Everyone has read Jenny’s blog, The Bloggess (and if you haven’t, why the hell not?), and her debut memoir is just like it, full of crazy things she does, awkward conversations she has, crazy texts she shares with Victor or sometimes, dark places she finds herself when her anxiety or depression take hold. The chapters are individual stories, told in chronological order.

Jenny states in the beginning that most of the stories are true, and even though she says only names and dates have been changed, you have to wonder if everything else could really be true. If so, she’s had quite the life! There were a few stories or mentions that I recall from reading her blog, but most everything in the book was new to me.

The way she deals with the setbacks and disappointments in her life are wonderful; she is a great example of how humor can make most anything better. There are some truly sad parts, like her many miscarriages, but she continues on. Though it’s sad at the time, she can look back later and find the funny. She talks a lot about her husband, Victor, and I just adore him. He has (almost) the same sense of humor as Jenny, and he has the patience and understanding of a saint.

My only complaint is the audiobook. I adore Jenny Lawson, but her voice grates on my nerves. A lot of the time, she spoke in a monotone, with hardly any inflection. Several times, she would read a long paragraph or story (in a monotone), and her voice would get this gravelly sound. It got so bad I wanted to say “Clear your throat already!” And for some strange reason, she sang the chapter titles. Not very well. For those reasons alone, I would suggest going for the print version instead of the audio version.

The sum up

If you like The Bloggess, or awkwardly funny situations, check this one. Beware the salty language.

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Spice of Life | Lovingly Thrown Together | Shelf Love

06/12/2013 Filed Under: 4 owls, Adult, Audio, Autobiography, Chick lit, Contemporary, Drugs, Funny, Loss, Mental health, New adult, Not for the kiddies 2 Comments

Review: Wide Awake by Shelly Crane

Title: Wide Awake
Author: Shelly Crane
Publisher: Createspace
Format: Paperback, 218 pages
Source: Young Adult Novel Reader Blog Tours
4 owls

Summary

A girl.
A coma.
A life she can’t remember.

When Emma Walker wakes up in the hospital with no knowledge of how she got there, she learns that she’s been in a coma for six months. Strangers show up and claim to be her parents, but she can’t remember them. She can’t remember anyone. Not her friends, not even her boyfriend. Even though she can’t remember, everyone wants her to just pick up where she left off, but what she learns about the ‘old her’ makes her start to wish she’d never woken up. Her boyfriend breaks up with the new girl he’s dating to be with her, her parents want her to start planning for college, her friends want their leader back, and her physical therapist with the hazel eyes keeps his distance to save his position at the hospital.

Will she ever feel like she recognizes the girl in the mirror?

My thoughts

Emma wakes up after a six-month coma and can’t remember anything about herself. Her parents, brother, sister, boyfriend and friends all want the old Emma back, but the new Emma doesn’t know how to be their Emma. And maybe isn’t sure she really wants to be her anyway.

I liked Emma, she was fragile and yet strong at the same time. When her boyfriend pressured her to be the Emma he remembered, she managed to stand up to him and tell him that he needed to be patient. Even though he was persistent, she still stuck to her guns. I liked that she didn’t become a coward and try to please everyone all the time. Andy, said boyfriend, made it hard to know if he was a good guy or not. Sometimes, his persistence with Emma made me think he was a sweetheart who just missed his girl, but his cocky attitude made it hard to like him. Her parents were also hard nuts to crack – clearly they loved Emma, but why wouldn’t they just leave her alone instead of pushing her to be the old Emma? Emma’s physical therapist, Mason, ran hot and cold, making it hard to know whether to like him or not.

If anyone wants an example of instalove, look no further than this book. And not just from her. After Emma woke up, Mason was the only person who seemed to see her as she truly was, not who she used to be. He was one of the first faces she saw when she woke and almost instantly felt a connection to him. No matter what else was going on in her life, she felt a magnetic pull to him akin to instalove. And Mason seemed drawn to her as well. Though he was wishy washy about it, which was frustrating. We learned a bit near the end about why he felt so strongly about her, but even with that, his felt like a case of instalove as well. I’m a big fan of chemistry and attraction, but this relationship bordered on obsessive.

The book had a useless fact at the beginning of most chapters, and they were fairly interesting. They didn’t add anything to the story (though a book about useless facts does play a part), but I liked their inclusion. The novel is very well written, with plenty of interesting dialogue and scene setting. There were a few bothersome bits (the psychiatrist that only appeared in a few scenes, never to be heard from again, the instalove, the overly dramatic ending, the tattoo…), but the romance and story more than made up for them.

The sum up

Sweet and entertaining with a side of sad.

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04/20/2013 Filed Under: 4 owls, Book tour, Chemistry, Contemporary, Mental health, New adult, Romantic, YA saves, Young adult Leave a Comment

Review: If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

Title: If You Find Me
Author: Emily Murdoch
Publisher: March 26th 2013 by St. Martin’s Griffin
Format: Hardcover, 256 pages
Source: NetGalley
4 owls

Summary

There are some things you can’t leave behind…

A broken-down camper hidden deep in a national forest is the only home fifteen year-old Carey can remember. The trees keep guard over her threadbare existence, with the one bright spot being Carey’s younger sister, Jenessa, who depends on Carey for her very survival. All they have is each other, as their mentally ill mother comes and goes with greater frequency. Until that one fateful day their mother disappears for good, and two strangers arrive. Suddenly, the girls are taken from the woods and thrust into a bright and perplexing new world of high school, clothes and boys.

Now, Carey must face the truth of why her mother abducted her ten years ago, while haunted by a past that won’t let her go… a dark past that hides many a secret, including the reason Jenessa hasn’t spoken a word in over a year. Carey knows she must keep her sister close, and her secrets even closer, or risk watching her new life come crashing down.

My thoughts

Carey has lived in the forest with her sister Nessa, almost as long as she can remember, ever since her mother ran away from her abusive father. They live in an old camper with no running water, electricity and very little food. Carey is able to hunt squirrels and rabbits, in order for her and Nessa to have enough food. Their mother spends most of her time in town trying to score her next meth hit. Things aren’t great for them, but at least Nessa and Carey have each other. One day, after their mom has been gone for almost 2 months, Carey’s dad shows up and wants to take her home.

Carey was an amazing character – she took an awful situation and made it bearable. She was also kind of a paradox – mature far beyond her years in the forest, but when she was in the real world, she was naïve and innocent. She was a fierce mother-figure to Nessa, and saved her life in more ways than one. Nessa (also too mature for her age) was very lucky to have her. I can’t say much about the other characters without revealing too much of the plot, but I will say they were all very believable and authentic. And also, their mother rivals Nikki’s for the Worst Mother of the Decade award. Yikes.

The writing was fantastic. The scenes were so vibrant, from the broken down camper to the forest to the farm, I could picture every little detail. Even the farm dog was described in a way that made it easy for me to picture is strolling down a dirt lane, or chasing a truck.

The plot was a sad one, to be sure. The girls had lived such horrific lives, but once they were out in the world with clothes and electricity and all the food they could handle, Carey still wanted to be back in the forest, the only home she could remember. But as she learned to trust people and accept her mother for the douche canoe she truly was, her growth was practically measurable. She had to learn all about television and phones and even how to talk to other people.

This was sometimes a hard book to read, the things that Carey and Nessa went through were awful. I wanted to hug them or slap someone or just make it all better. But it was also hopeful and sweet and heartfelt.

The sum up

This is a hard one to read, but it’s worth it.

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04/17/2013 Filed Under: 4 owls, Abuse, Contemporary, Mental health, Sad, YA saves, Young adult Leave a Comment

Review: My Life After Now by Jessica Verdi

Title: My Life After Now
Author: Jessica Verdi
Publisher: April 2nd 2013 by Sourcebooks Fire
Format: Paperback, 304 pages
Source: Publisher
4 owls

Summary

Lucy just had the worst week ever. Seriously, mega bad. And suddenly, it’s all too much—she wants out. Out of her house, out of her head, out of her life. She wants to be a whole new Lucy. So she does something the old Lucy would never dream of.

And now her life will never be the same. Now, how will she be able to have a boyfriend? What will she tell her friends? How will she face her family?

Now her life is completely different…every moment is a gift. Because now she might not have many moments left.

My thoughts

Lucy and her boyfriend of a year and a half, Ty, are starring in the school’s performance of Romeo and Juliet. Lucy lost the part of Juliet to the school’s snobby prima donna, Elyse, but she’s embracing her role as Mercutio. Her two besties, Max and Courtney, are there for her no matter what. When Lucy sees that Elyse is flirting with Ty, she’s not worried. She and Ty are meant to be. Unfortunately, Ty doesn’t agree and dumps her for Elyse. And to top her crappy week off, her absentee mother shows up and Lucy’s dads let her move in with them. In an effort to forget about her life for a while, Lucy goes home with a drummer from the club she, Max and Courtney go to. After her humiliating walk of shame, she’s ready to put the whole incident behind her. When she learns she has HIV, Lucy is devastated. How will she tell everyone? Will anyone ever want to touch her again? And how long until she dies?

Lucy was a very relatable character. She was your average good girl who made a mistake. Who hasn’t done something out of character just to shake things up a bit? Usually, though, it doesn’t end as badly as it did for Lucy. And though I think the mistake she made was pretty stupid, and not one many other people would make, she was young and innocent and just didn’t know any better. But that was just one of the times, among several, I thought Lucy acted immature for her age.

She was very lucky to have the support of her two fathers, who were just about the perfect parents. They were supportive and kind and let their daughter lead her own life. And Lucy’s mom was pretty much the definition of “shitty mom.” Yikes. It’s amazing Lucy turned out as normal as she did, considering her mother. I was disappointed in the way Max and Courtney treated Lucy in the beginning. They were supposed to be such great friends, but as soon as Lucy got a little grumpy, they just gave up on her and left her behind. I loved Evan, he was so kind and truly her friend.

The dialogue was believable and honest. I especially liked how real Lucy and her fathers were once they started talking about her diagnosis. Her fathers, especially, went out of their way to talk about HIV like it wasn’t a devastating thing. They were careful not to make Lucy feel bad, or like she deserved it. Really, they were an awesome example of how parents should act in a situation like this.

I liked the writing, though I think a few things were glossed over. Lucy’s night out at the club, the time immediately after, and various situations after her diagnosis, I felt all could have used more. More discussion, more details or more depth. The plot was a unique one, I can’t recall reading one where the main character contracted HIV (not saying they aren’t out there, just that I haven’t read them). What a harsh lesson for someone to learn. The details and statistics worked into the story were scary and sad and made the book more realistic and relevant. Near the end, it got to be too preachy for my taste. It was almost like the story took on a completely different tone.

The sum up

This story has a great message wrapped up in an entertaining story.

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Book Passion For Life
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Novels On the Run

04/03/2013 Filed Under: 4 owls, Besties, Contemporary, Mental health, Sad, YA saves, Young adult 1 Comment

Review: Emblaze by Jessica Shirvington

Title: Emblaze
Author: Jessica Shirvington
Publisher: March 5th 2013 by Sourcebooks Fire
Format: Hardcover, 464 pages
Source: Publisher
Series: Embrace | Entice | Emblaze | Endless
4 owls

Summary

Once again Violet Eden faces an impossible choice … and the consequences are unimaginable.

Violet has come to terms with the fact that being part angel, part human, means her life will never be as it was.

Now Violet has something Phoenix – the exiled angel who betrayed her – will do anything for, and she has no intention of letting it fall into his hands. The only problem is that he has something she needs too.

Not afraid to raise the stakes, Phoenix seemingly holds all the power, always one step ahead. And when he puts the final pieces of the prophecy together, it doesn’t take him long to realise exactly who he needs in order to open the gates of Hell.

With the help of surprising new allies, ancient prophecies are deciphered, a destination set and, after a shattering confrontation with her father, Violet leaves for the islands of Greece without knowing if she will have a home to return to…

My thoughts

Violet is trying to live her every day as normal as possible, all while wearing a glamoured (so nobody can see it) weapon, holding after school fight training and hunting down exiles at night. And now, thanks to his new girlfriend’s influence, Violet’s father is showing a sudden interest in her life. When Violet and her family of Grigori are dishonest in their plan to swap the Grigori Scriptures with the Exile Scriptures with Phoenix, he kidnaps her best friend Stephanie. Now they have to swap the Scriptures for Steph’s life.

I loved this book! There was so much action, but it didn’t take the place of character development; there was plenty of that as well. Violet started to finally get a grasp on her strength and powers. She matured quite a bit and didn’t go running off half-cocked. Her father actually started to act like a father, and you could almost see the moment where he realized how much he’d screwed everything up by not being around. We got to see things Phoenix’s point of view, and they really helped shape his persona. We know why he acted the way he did in the earlier books. It certainly made me like him a bit better. And Lincoln… wonderful Lincoln. Finally, we know how he truly felt about Violet. It was a long time coming, but worth the wait.

The action was almost non-stop. Between the night time exile hunting, fighting Phoenix and the island battles, it seemed like there was lot more fighting than usual. There was also a lot more emotion in this book than in the previous ones. The characters were finally being more upfront about their feelings, though sometimes Violet’s need for Lincoln became almost comical in its strength. Luckily, there was an actual reason for that, it wasn’t just to make things more dramatic.

There was a bit of “I’m secretly planning something stupid instead of talking to someone about our options.” which really drives me nuts. Communicate, people! The scenery was wonderful, I could picture the Greek Islands as Violet did, especially the volcano and lighthouse. There is a cliffhanger, but it’s not unsatisfactory. It’s more of a surprise than a true cliffhanger.

The sum up

Another home run in the Violet Eden series. I can’t wait for the next one!

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03/25/2013 Filed Under: 4 owls, Angels, Bad boy, Besties, Chemistry, Cliffhanger, Easy read, Fast pace, Magic, Romantic, Young adult Leave a Comment

Review: Pretty Girl-13 by Liz Coley

Title: Pretty Girl-13
Author: Liz Coley
Publisher: March 19th 2013 by Katherine Tegen Books
Format: Hardcover, 352 pages
Source: Edelweiss
4 owls

Summary

Reminiscent of the Elizabeth Smart case, Pretty Girl-13 is a disturbing and powerful psychological mystery about a girl who must piece together the story of her kidnapping and captivity.

Angie Chapman was thirteen years old when she ventured into the woods alone on a Girl Scouts camping trip. Now she’s returned home…only to find that it’s three years later and she’s sixteen-or at least that’s what everyone tells her.

What happened to the past three years of her life?

Angie doesn’t know.

But there are people who do — people who could tell Angie every detail of her forgotten time, if only they weren’t locked inside her mind. With a tremendous amount of courage, Angie embarks on a journey to discover the fragments of her personality, otherwise known as her “alters.” As she unearths more and more about her past, she discovers a terrifying secret and must decide: When you remember things you wish you could forget, do you destroy the parts of yourself that are responsible?

Liz Coley’s alarming and fascinating psychological mystery is a disturbing – and ultimately empowering page-turner about accepting our whole selves, and the healing power of courage, hope, and love.

My thoughts

Angie is on a Girl Scout camping trip with her friends when suddenly she’s at the front door of her house, with no idea how she got there. What’s even odder is that people are telling her she’s 16, not 13 like she knows she is. Then she sees herself in the mirror and realizes something isn’t right – she looks like an older version of herself. After the doctors and the police, her parents get her to a psychologist, who helps Angie realize she has multiple personalities, or Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). Whatever happened to Angie during her missing 3 years, the alternate identities, or alters, lived through it, not her. Desperate to heal herself, Angie must decide if she can handle the secrets the alters hide, or if she should just get rid of them without learning the truth.

Man, oh man. What a ride. We first met Angie as she was on the camping trip, but the story wasn’t told from her point of view at first; it was someone else telling the story to Angie (we don’t learn who until later). This person told Angie what happened when she went home as a 16-year-old, what she went through trying to adjust and how she came to know about the alters. It was easy to care about Angie, to be scared for her as she learned the truth. She was so innocent and naïve, truly still a 13-year-old mentally. At times, she seemed even more immature than 13, but perhaps that was a result of her situation.

Her parents didn’t act like I thought they should all the time, but they were pretty realistic. They, too, had been through a lot over the 3 years Angie was gone, and it was also an adjustment for them. I loved the psychiatrist Angie started seeing, she was wonderfully patient and understanding, and I was glad she was on Angie’s side. Angie’s friends dealt with her return in different ways, and some of them dealt with her reappearance better than others.

I’ve never known anyone with DID, so I can’t say with certainty if Liz Coley is spot on with this book, but I will say it seemed believable and was very interesting. I wanted to know why Angie developed these alters, how they worked together (or didn’t) and how she could heal from them. The entire process of Angie’s healing was very powerful, and can I just say I have never wanted to knee a fictional character in their fictional groin more than I wanted to in this book. I can’t recall the last time I was reading a book and said out loud “No, it can’t be.” or “Don’t do it!” And I’m not exaggerating.

Angie’s story was heartbreaking, but it was also hopeful and powerful, because underneath it all, she was strong; she just had to realize it.

The sum up

Sad and powerful, this is a hard one to read, but worth it.

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The Perpetual Page-Turner
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Bookish Comforts

03/21/2013 Filed Under: 4 owls, Abuse, Besties, Bullying, Contemporary, Loss, Mental health, Not for the kiddies, Rape, YA saves, Young adult 3 Comments

Review: Being Henry David by Cal Armistead

Title: Being Henry David
Author: Cal Armistead
Publisher: March 1st 2013 by Albert Whitman Teen
Format: Hardcover, 270 pages
Source: NetGalley
4 owls

Summary

Seventeen-year-old “Hank” has found himself at Penn Station in New York City with no memory of anything –who he is, where he came from, why he’s running away. His only possession is a worn copy of Walden, by Henry David Thoreau. And so he becomes Henry David-or “Hank” and takes first to the streets, and then to the only destination he can think of–Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. Cal Armistead’s remarkable debut novel is about a teen in search of himself. Hank begins to piece together recollections from his past. The only way Hank can discover his present is to face up to the realities of his grievous memories. He must come to terms with the tragedy of his past, to stop running, and to find his way home.

My thoughts

A teenage boy wakes up in the middle of Penn Station with no idea who he is or how he got there. Because he found Henry David Thoreau’s book Walden next to him when he woke, he thinks it must be an important clue to his identity. He tells Jack, a street-wise teen he meets at Penn Station, that his name is Henry David and Jack nicknames him Hank. When Jack leads them into a potentially dangerous situation, Hank decides to split and goes to the only place he can think of – Concord, Massachusetts, the setting of Walden.

I don’t read a lot of books that feature male POVs and this book makes me wonder why; I had no problem getting into Hank’s head. He was such an engaging character: scared and brave, smart and reckless. He basically had no idea who he was, so he had to become this brand new person and it was interesting to watch that happen. The people he met along the way were great additions to the story, they were all unique and had their own personality traits. I especially liked the librarian who was there for Hank every time he needed help.

The opening scene, in which Hank woke in Penn Station, was so exciting it just grabbed me. I could feel how panicked he was, how scared. After the brief stay in New York, most of the book took place in Concord, and the location descriptions were fabulous. I could totally picture everything in my mind while reading: the school, the lake, the forest, the library… It was all top-notch. Henry David Thoreau was woven throughout the book: quotes, books he wrote, his beliefs and ideals. I’m not very familiar with the author, but I enjoyed the bits about him and think he was probably a pretty interesting person.

I enjoyed the mystery aspect – who was Hank and how did he end up unconscious in Penn Station? Little clues were revealed slowly throughout the story, so there was no big moment where everything was explained, and I liked that. The reason he ended up where he did was satisfying and believable. The ending was a bit drawn out for my liking, but in the end I enjoyed it. There was no cliffhanger or overly cheery happily ever after. It was realistic and heartfelt.

The sum up

I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait to see what the author comes up with next.

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