Review: Karma - Cathy Ostlere

Where I got it: Library
Rating: 4.5 stars  

Cover Rating: 4 stars (Lovely.)
Genre: Young Adult

Publication Date: January 5, 2012

Publisher: Razorbill

Page Count: 534 p.

Buy it: Book Depository / Amazon
Add it: Goodreads

Maya has lived in Canada with her Indian parents all her life. Now, her and her father are making their way back to India with her mother's ashes. When they arrive in India though, the assassination of Indira Ghandi has things in an uproar. They end up having to go their separate ways just to survive. Sandeep saw Maya, and knew that he would love her. Though she wasn't speaking, he would be her voice and hopefully bring her back where she belongs.

What a heartbreaking novel. I always hate people killing people for no reason other than they are part of a group that the killers don't like. The people were killed in a barbaric way, and the country ignored that it was happening. Unfortunately I know this happens all the time. Maya was an interesting character, even if her thoughts were absent throughout the middle of this story. In the middle Sandeep fills in with his observations of the elusive girl. I found this to be an interesting way to tell the story. Sandeep seemed to have a lot more to say and wonder about than Maya did at that point in time. It seemed as though Maya was too filled with grief to think different thoughts. She probably just had the same horrifying images playing again and again through her mind; while this is understandable, it doesn't make for very exciting reading. Sandeep was a very kind person. He helped Maya and never left her, even when he knew the outcome would not be in his favor.

I really liked the verse and the diary style writing for this novel. It made it feel intimate and urgent. At times I felt the story focused on the light side of things too much, but I think it helped leave the reader not completely depressed. The last few chapters were even better than I had thought they would be, which is always nice. Love seems to be a big theme in this novel, despite all the war and chaos. This was a fantastic historical fiction that will make your heart ache but will leave you satisfied.

First Line:
"How to begin."

Favorite Line:
"Bapu says her death is due architecture.[..]Because the gold was tarnished with blood. Because of hate. Prejudice. Intolerance."

Review: Waiting - Carol Lynch Williams

Where I got it: Library
Rating: 4.5 stars  

Cover Rating: 4 stars (I don't like the weird light on the back of his head, I'm also a bit disappointed in the jacket as a whole, it is just this image over and over.)
Genre: Young Adult

Publication Date: May 1, 2012

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Page Count: 352 p.

Buy it: Book Depository / Amazon
Add it: Goodreads

London has lost her brother, her best friend, Zach died. Her mother refuses to acknowledge her and her father has immersed himself in his work. London feels alone. She has a hard time talking to people who know, because she doesn't want to hear them say they are sorry for her loss. She misses Zach so much and it's hard for her to cope without him. She tries to find comfort in two other pairs of arms though. She holds on to her old boyfriend Taylor and  new guy Jesse. Though London will soon realize that a few stolen kisses can't even begin to make her whole again, she may realize that she isn't as alone as she thought and can take the first step towards moving on.

This book was pretty devastating. At first it seemed like a typical novel about grief and a family flung apart by it. As you dig deeper into the novel and find all the events that transpired, it just gets hard to read. London has suffered a terrible loss, but it was so much worse than that too. She lost her mother when she lost her brother, because her mother blames her completely. I understand why London sought comfort with other boys. Taylor helped her remember all the great things about her brother, while Jesse let her forget any of it ever happened.

I'm a bit torn about the religious aspects of this novel. I felt like they didn't run deep enough; there wasn't enough of London and Zach's background. On the other hand though, faith is a funny thing and sometimes no amount of background goes to explaining how deep it can run in a person. I thought the faith we did see gave a glimmer of hope to London and it was nice to see her with that hope.

Again, this is a novel written in verse, and it fit the novel nicely. Novels about very tough subjects just really work well in verse, especially the feeling of being alone. A mostly blank page with the words "She has four brothers. Count them. One, two, three, four. And my one is none." really hits hard. When there are less words, you can focus on the meat of the story.

If you like stories that will make you sad, but hopeful check this one out. It was a great read and I can't wait for what Carol Lynch Williams has next in store for us.

First Line:
"After it happened, no one in school would talk to me."

Favorite Lines:
"Somehow, I open the van door and stumble out onto the green, green grass of our lawn. I am the stupidest girl at Smyrna High. I am."

Review: May B. - Caroline Starr Rose

Where I got it: Library

Rating: 3.5 stars  

Cover Rating: 4 stars (It is a very interesting style. I quite like it. It does look like a middle grade read.)
Genre: Middle Grade

Publication Date: January 10, 2012

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade

Page Count: 228 p.

Buy it: Book Depository / Amazon

May's father decides that May needs to help the family out. The harvest was great this year, and they need some extra money. He takes her fifteen miles west out in the prairie to help a new couple settle into prairie life. Unfortunately the wife is less than willing to accept the quite loneliness of the great west. Soon the wife, Mrs. Oblinger, takes off to head back home. Mr. Oblinger, upon finding out races into town to try and stop her. May is left alone to get supper ready. Night comes and goes, and then another, and then another and May thinks they might not ever come back. A month or so passes and May is still completely alone. She has no way of telling her family what has happened and she has no way of getting home. Then the blizzard comes and May isn't prepared. She's trapped inside the home with no escape, and no one coming to get her for a while yet.

This was a nice story about a lot of things. May has dyslexia and struggles greatly with it, since she is very into her schooling. She has a cruel teacher who doesn't help her at all. Then, May is left to fend for herself and try to survive the harsh winter. I can't imagine how lonely and crazy I would go being trapped in a tiny house, with barely enough food and clothing to survive. May handled things fairly well though. Fans of Hatchet may enjoy this one. A good survival story with an interesting character. It is great for younger readers, a bit a fear but no violence. I was also thrilled to find this novel is written in verse. It's such a great format to convey intense emotional duress. This was a great debut and I'll be very interested to see more by Caroline Starr Rose.

First Line:
"I won't go."

Favorite Line:
"There are tracks
on the edge of the moonlit garden."

Review: After the Kiss - Terra Elan McVoy

Where I got it: My collection

Rating: 3.5 stars  

Cover Rating: 4 stars (Flirty and fun. A little borrowing up around that top area though.)
Genre: Young Adult

Publication Date: January 4, 2011

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Page Count: 382 p.

Buy it: Book Depository / Amazon

This isn't Camille's first move to a new town, and it won't be her last. Her parents move her whenever a new job calls. She has to just pick up her life and leave—her best friend in Cali, her heart in Chicago—and Camille has no say. She's shattered after this move from Chicago, but she figures it's only a matter of time before they move again. She'll just blend in and make no attachments, that is until the kiss.
Becca and Alec seem to be a match made in heaven. She can't believe she has a jock boyfriend who writes haikus. He's so sweet and smart and she just doesn't know what she'd do without him. But he's the one who kissed Camille, and she doesn't know what to do from here.
Camille doesn't know who Becca is, but Becca recognizes her. They're both just trying to figure out their lives and they need to take it one step at a time.

I really liked the format of this novel. It switched between Camille with her no capital letter paragraphs and Becca with her poems. Then interspersed are Alec's Haiku/dialogue. It was a great setup, and help set the two girls apart on paper, more than just their personalities. It was interesting seeing these two girls that contrast each other in so many ways, end up in each others paths. Camille gets kissed by Becca's boyfriend, but she doesn't know he's taken. Becca quickly finds out Camille's identity and forms a plan. Meanwhile, Camille's way too caught up in her real life to really give her life in this town too much thought. Her minds still in San Francisco and Chicago. Those are places she wants to be, even if she can't admit it. I hated Becca's sort-of friend, Freya, she is such a blabbermouth drama queen. I'm glad she didn't come up that often, because she was truly obnoxious. Terra Elan McVoy made an interesting love triangle here, two girls and one boy, too confused and dealing with other things to really know what they want. Becca is trying to figure out how to become and adult, while Camille is trying to figure out what she wants in life. Becca does seem a lot more childish than Camille in some ways, her thoughts and dialogue reveal that she is not as hardened. Camille seems to have done a lot of growing up as a byproduct of moving so often. When you close yourself of from getting attached, you have more time to look at the world. When you close off your emotions though, it may be hard to see what you want and need. This was a quick read and definitely one that will make you think a bit, I'd recommend you check it out, even though it's not one I'd re-read.

First Line:
"pulling in the driveway all you can think is that this is the kind of house they were trying to duplicate back in charlotte: the real southern living deal—a big beautiful old (but newly renovated) house in an area they are calling the virginia highlands, with no hills to be seen and two states separated from virginia."

Favorite Line:
"Her elbows are pointy
and find rib cages easily."

Review: Love & Leftovers - Sarah Tregay

Where I got it: Library

Rating: 4 stars  

Cover Rating: 4.5 stars (Cute, but typical ;) )
Genre: Young Adult

Publication Date: December 27, 2011

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Page Count: 432 p.

Buy it: Book Depository / Amazon

When things get rough in Marcie's parents marriage, she's dragged away from Idaho and all her friends to New Hampshire. What she thought at first was going to be a summer trip, last well past labor day. Marcie now doesn't know if she will ever be going home, and it's hard to have long-distance friends and a boyfriend. Her mother has her own issues going on, so Marcie is left on her own. Then a cute boy starts paying her attention. What starts out as a friendship may turn into so much more. How can she live two lived though, how can she know who to love? Will she ever go home, or is she stuck in New Hampshire forever?

This book wasn't as sweet as I thought it would be. A bit more emo and crazy. It all starts when her mother and her discover something shocking about her father, and Marcie's mother decides they need some breathing room. I live in New Hampshire, so it was fun getting to read about some local places. It's always nice when you can picture exactly how things look and where they are. I can understand where Marcie is coming from when she starts seeing J.D. Even though she cares about Linus, he's 300,000,000 miles away(not the actual distance) and it gets lonely by yourself. Marcie just wants to fall in love, because she doesn't know if she has. It's hard when you have it to see what it is. The characters weren't overly developed, that while possibly making it hard for some people to feel for them, fits the books style. It would have been awkward if Marcie starting writing biographies of all her friends. You had all the information you needed for this part of Marcie's life. This would have been an interesting novel to have been written in alternating viewpoints though, then I think the characters would have popped a little more. I love novels written in verse, so I devoured this one in a single sitting. I loved the format and that it was mostly like Marcie was writing it in her diary. Katie is in a hard position as a friend to both Linus and Katie. It's tricky being caught in the middle while still trying to be a good friend to both sides. She seemed like a fun girl though and I can't blame her for some of her actions. This was a still a sweet story despite all the craziness. Love prevails within the Leftovers(Marcie's group of friends) so you have plenty of smooching to read about ;) I would definitely recommend this to lovers of novels in verse, realistic fiction and, of course, love.

First Line:
My mother
doesn't understand
that this is a summerhouse
(meant to be lived in
only during the summer).

Favorite Lines:
MarsBars   pheromones?
EmoK8      no, more like, on the bright side,
                  i'm now the girlfriend of a sex god.

Review: Audition - Stasia Ward Kehoe

Where I got it: Library

Rating: 4 stars  

Cover Rating: 4 stars (It's quite fitting for the book, but doesn't grab my attention from other books.)  

Genre: Young Adult 

Publication Date: October 13, 2011

Publisher: Viking Juvenile

Page Count: 458 p.

Buy it: Book Depository / Amazon

Sara is sixteen and from Vermont. She started ballet in a basement studio in her small town. She is thrilled and surprised when she is offered a scholarship to study ballet in New Jersey. She feels like she's finally on the track to becoming a professional ballerina. Once she is there though, doubts start to creep in. She starts to feel unsure of who she is and what she wants. Things get even more complicated when she starts to fall for twenty-something Remington. He has a girlfriend, but they seem on rocky ground. Maybe a boyfriend is just what Sara needs for her home away from home. Maybe it'll just complicated things even further though and make Sara even more unsure of what her future holds.

This was a very interesting read. I did ballet for a few years when I was younger, so I knew some of the terms but more than half I had no idea what they were. Not a huge deal, but make sure you have the internet handy if you want to be able to picture their moves better and you are not a ballerina. I did love the writing though and with the ballet motions, it just brought the characters to life. Picturing Sara posing in front of her mirror arabesque, or gliding across the studio jeté. It just really made the novel enjoyable and added a lovely lyrical quality to the brief phrases of verse.
The one thing that irked me about this book is how Sara switched back and forth between naive girl from Vermont to wise ballerina woman. Sometimes she just had these amazing, adult, moments of clarity but then she would slide right back in to her sixteen-year-old, unsure skin. Though, teens are wild and complicated creatures, moody and such. Maybe that's just the kind of person she was. It did seem to switch a bit too far though, almost as if Sara was writing about it years later and interspersing new found wisdom throughout her narrative.
Now, despite the age difference, this was not a big teacher-student relationship thing. I do enjoy reading those novels, but this one was not risque enough to fall into the category. Their love just wasn't forbidden enough I suppose. Granted they do get quite intimate and he is in his twenties, while she is only a teen. Honestly though, the relationship did not seem that scandalous. The relationship was mostly just a coming-of-age moment for Sara. Having never really had a boyfriend, she has to experiment and figure out what she wants.
That's the big theme of the novel. Sara finding what she really wants in life, not just what is expected of her. This is not expected just by her parents, but things Sara expects of herself. This was an amazing verse novel and I eagerly wait for Stasia Ward Kehoe's sophomore debut!

First Line:
"When you are a dance
You learn the beginning
Is first position."

Favorite Lines:
"This night is all adagio."


"I wake up lonely.
Want to be


Someone's


Prima
Ballerina
Muse
Girl."

Review: The Day Before - Lisa Schroeder

Where I got it: Library

Rating: 4 stars  

Cover Rating: 4.5 stars (Simple, but lovely.)  

Genre: Young Adult

Publication Date: June 28, 2011

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Page Count: 307 p.

Buy it: Book Depository / Amazon

Amber's life is out of control. Things are happening that she has no control over, and she just needs to clear her head. That's why she decides to take a trip to the ocean, a solo trip. She's by herself until she sees a boy at the aquarium looking at the jellyfish. Cade is mysterious and also on a solo beach trip. Together they set out to find the perfect fun the day before their lives change completely. They will never be the same, but maybe they can help each other get past that.

This is my favorite Lisa Schroeder that I have read so far. I still need to pick up Chasing Brooklyn though. Amber was in a particularly strange predicament and it was fascinating learning all the sides of it throughout the novel. Cade was in an odd situation too, so really they were the perfect match together. The relationship between the two seemed so real and genuine that I would sort of forget that it all took place in one day. They fell together so comfortably most of the time. As always Schroeder's words weave a fascinating story. This time of two people living what feels like their last day, to the fullest.

First Line:
"Some mornings,
it's hard to get
out of bed."


Favorite Lines:
"radio for help
Why do I get the feeling
this boy is
lost at sea?


                     Just like me?"

Review: Family - Micol Ostow

Where I got it: Amazon Vine

Rating: 4 stars
Cover Rating: 3.5 stars (It's pretty creepy, the girl without a face, but that might make me pick it up.)
Genre:Young Adult
Publication Date: April 26, 2011
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Page Count: 376 p.

mel is a shell of a girl. raped by her "uncle" and abandoned by her mother. mel decides she must head to the city of angels, california. this is where she meets Him, Henry. He is the thing that can save her. she can do His bidding and in turn He will let her into the family. with the family and Henry, mel might be able to fill in all those dark spaces inside. when life with the family turns dark though, mel has to decide if it can still fill her up, or if she will have to try to be whole somewhere else.

This was a very intense story. I wish I didn't know so much about the Manson family going into it. It distracted me, because I kept trying to compare people and decide who each character represented. This was very well written though. Mel's character was intense and broken and drugged, and it made her story have a sort of repetitive haze. Sometimes the repetition was a bit much, but overall I loved the effect it lent to the story. I appreciated that everything was lowercase, except for Him, Henry, He. It showed what a significant role Henry played in the life of the family and it's members. I can see how someone could get sucked into a position like Mel and the others. If you are already a little weak, and looking for people who might respect and love you, a family could seem ideal. If they make you feel good, you may even go to any lengths in order to remain with them. You may even do things you know in your gut to be wrong, because in your mind, it's the right thing to do. It also helps when your tripping on acid and the like. I really love reading about cults, even though they send chills up my spine. This book is very outside the box of Micol Ostow's other novels(Crush du Jour, Gettin' Lucky etc.), but luckily it was completely fantastic. If you have ever been interested at an inside look of a girl who finds herself going along with a cult, this may just be the one for you. Be careful though, because Mel's narrative is addictive and might just leave you wanting and needing something yourself. This is a book everyone should read, it may not be a light and fun read, but you'll be glad you read it.

First Line:
"i have always been broken."

Favorite Lines:
"her driver's license says that she is nineteen and that she has come to us from the far east—new hampshire."

"when I was six years old, i drowned. [luckily it didn't take.]"

Review: Hidden - Helen Frost

Where I got it: From Publisher for review

Rating: 4.5 stars

Cover Rating: 4 stars (It's pretty and the two people flow nicely together.)
Genre:Young Adult
Publication Date: May 10, 2011 
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Page Count: 142 p.

Darra's father steals a minivan, and a little girl. He only knows about and intended to steal the car. Darra suspects that Wren might be in their garage, but she doesn't dare tell her parents. A few years later, they both end up at the same summer camp. They don't recognize each other by sight, but by name. The girls are forced to face something they would both rather forget, but by sharing their story maybe they can forgive.

This was a very intense story about the girl who got accidentally kidnapped and the other girl who knew she was there. I loved how the story was written in prose poetry. Also, Darra's part was even more than just the straight-foward words, because the words at the end of the longer lines, told a story of their own. This was a brief story, and I wish we got more insight into Wren's family. It seems like we never find out too much about her and end up knowing a lot more about Darra. I love that they meet a summer camp and are forced together. It wouldn't have been a completely different thing if they never met each other. The voices were very true to the ages of the characters, you can see a vast difference from eight-years old to fourteen, especially for Wren. This was a compelling story about how one viewpoint might not hold all the answers and how to girls who want to forget eachother can break through that and make themselves both feel a lot better.

First Line:
"I was a happy little girl wearing a pink dress,
      sitting in our gold minivan, 
      dancing with my doll, Kamara."


Favorite Line:
"His hair smells like the lake."

Review: Far From You - Lisa Schroeder

Where I got it: Library
Rating: 3.5 stars 
Cover Rating: 4.5 stars (I really like the imagery of it. Also it's really pretty.)
Genre: Young Adult  
Publication Date: January 5, 2010
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Page Count: 355 p. 

Alice's mum died of cancer. It was very sad, and ripped Alice apart. Alice's dad remarried and now they are having a new baby which Alice feels will only prove to separate her even further from her father.  When The four of them go to visit the new wife's family across country Alice doesn't see why she has to go. Her dad gets called away for business so Alice is stuck driving home with the step-mom and baby. When Her step-mom takes a detour on back roads and the weather gets bad, the three of them are stuck. Alice will have to learn how to grow up and how to except the new things in her life.

I liked that Alice was named after Alice in Wonderland and that there were a lot of reference to it throughout. I also appreciated that Alice was religious, but not preachy. She had her beliefs and she was sad her boyfriend couldn't share them, but she hoped he might come around. I did have a problem with her boyfriend, Blaze, though. He came of as being very psychologically abusive. Maybe it's just me but there seemed to be something off about him. He came on kind of hard and unfeeling at times. Alice always mentioned how sweet Blaze was, but he just seemed sort of callous. Other than that this was a good story about survival and how you can come to love people that you thought you never would. It was touching how Alice cared for her really young stepsister, even though in the beginning she wanted nothing to do with her.  I can't imagine what it must feel like to be trapped in a car on a back road in a terrible snowstorm, just waiting for someone to come. This was a great novel in verse and I would recommend it to fans of verse novels and realistic fiction.

First Line:
"We're alone
with only
the cold
and dark
to keep us 
company."

Favorite Line:
"He is
better than warm fall colors, 
better than beautiful music,
better than doughnuts and coffee."   

Review: The Best and Hardest Thing - Pat Brisson

Where I got it: Arc from my collection
Rating: 4.5 stars 
Cover Rating: 4 stars (Certainly eye-catching, but also tells you how the story is bound to go.) 
Genre: Young Adult 
Publication Date: May 13, 2010
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Page Count: 231 p.

Molly Biden at fifteen is a saint. At least that's what everyone calls her. She always follows the rules, does what she is told and is in general a good girl. Molly decides that she wants to kick her saintly image and decides to try on a more rebellious side. She starts to flirt with the (extremely attractive) new guy. When one thing leads to another Molly at sixteen winds up pregnant and facing a very difficult decision.

Hooray for novels in verse, they really are just fantastic. This novel was a bit different from others I have read in verse because this novel explored many different types of poetry instead of just one to tell the whole story. Molly is a scared and alone teen. Molly's voice rings clear and true with the heaviness of the world bearing down on her. Sure there are people who have to suffer worse but, each person has their trials and Molly's are some that many would not want to have to endure. Having lost her mom at a young age and being raised by her grandmother, definitely had an effect on her actions and emotions. Molly looks at the challenges she has to face and honestly I think she succeeded admirably. There are hard decisions and life and some people have to face them really early on. I think this is a great novel about accidental teen pregnancy and girls should definitely read it. Not only does this novel make you feel better about having to make those hard decisions, but it tells you that every decision you make can lead to something bigger. This book wasn't super preachy saying that teen sex is wrong. Molly is rueful, but isn't overly depressed and wishing she did something different. Molly gracefully accepts the consequences of her actions and I think that is an excellent and important message. Although teen pregnancy is not necessarily a light subject, this novel approaches it with a more jovial feel. Molly cracks jokes, writes poetry to her virginity and in general is a pretty positive person. If you love novels in verse make sure you make time for this debut from Pat Brisson, it was a truly fantastic read.

First Line:
"She was a Golden Rule kind of girl--
doing-unto-others-as-she-would-have-them-
etcetera."

Favorite Line:
"Molly, 
this is your virginity speaking."