Review: If I Stay

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Gayle Forman
Format: eBook
Pages: 262
Rating: 8 out of 10

Summary (I hope Goodreads stays): On a day that started like any other,

Mia had everything: a loving family, a gorgeous, admiring boyfriend, and a bright future full of music and full of choices. In an instant, almost all of that is taken from her. Caught between life and death, between a happy past and an unknowable future, Mia spends one critical day contemplating the only decision she has left. It is the most important decision she'll ever make.

Simultaneously tragic and hopeful, this is a romantic, riveting, and ultimately uplifting story about memory, music, living, dying, loving.

So: Kristen gave me this novel and warned me not to read it when I was around other people because I would cry. I didn't cry but I came very close. This novel made me really consider my life and what I would do in the main character's situation. It was hard to imagine but this novel is written beautifully. I don't usually like flashbacks but in this novel, they were not only necessary but perfectly placed in the story to further it. You have to pay a little bit more attention to this novel because of how the main character thinks and bounces back to the past but it's worth it.

I really fell in love with the characters. I felt their pain but still wanted to laugh at some of the funny things they did. What I laughed at wasn't always funny. Sometimes they needed to do what they did and I laughed in disbelief. I want someone to fight for me like that...also, her boyfriend rocks...literally and figuratively. 

The idea for this novel was wonderful...wonderfully sad, I suppose. It really is just a beautiful story, a beautiful novel. I wish that I could tell you more about it but I don't want to give too much away. I think that if you enjoy young adult fiction at all than you should at least pick up this book at the store and look at it. Just look at it. I ask nothing else of you. 

Conclusion: This novel was really unique. I've never read another book like it so I'm glad I took the time to read it. Tears were close to falling a few times so read it alone but make sure to go read it. I'm sure the movie will be awesome. I already got my hands on the sequel!

Already read If I Stay? Check out Kristen's review for its sequel, Where She Went, which Kristen enjoyed even more!

Special Note: Today this book has been released as a movie. Go show your support at your local movie theater. Kristen and I will be checking it out soon!

The Moon and More

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Sarah Dessen
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 435
Rating: 6 out of 10

Summary (Goodreads, you are just too much!): Luke is the perfect boyfriend: handsome, kind, fun. He and Emaline have been together all through high school in Colby, the beach town where they both grew up. But now, in the summer before college, Emaline wonders if perfect is good enough.

Enter Theo, a super-ambitious outsider, a New Yorker assisting on a documentary film about a reclusive local artist. Theo's sophisticated, exciting, and, best of all, he thinks Emaline is much too smart for Colby.

Emaline's mostly-absentee father, too, thinks Emaline should have a bigger life, and he's convinced that an Ivy League education is the only route to realizing her potential. Emaline is attracted to the bright future that Theo and her father promise. But she also clings to the deep roots of her loving mother, stepfather, and sisters. Can she ignore the pull of the happily familiar world of Colby?

Emaline wants the moon and more, but how can she balance where she comes from with where she's going?

Sarah Dessen's devoted fans will welcome this story of romance, yearning, and, finally, empowerment. It could only happen in the summer.

Thoughts: Sooo...the cover is pretty and has a great colour sheme...

Okay, so it wasn't the worst book I've ever read but at times it felt like. I love Sarah Dessen. I have every one of her books. Of all of them, this one is my least favourite. This novel was totally opposite of all her other novels. The others are love stories but this one is more about growing out of the being in love. I was expecting a much cuter story. I was said when I didn't get it. I mean, it makes sense that she doesn't want to write the same story over and over again but I didn't think that it would be like this.

I thought the writing was perfect. I also, oddly, enjoyed learning the big SAT words that she kind of makes fun of at some parts. There was also a lot of wit to be enjoyed. Every once and a while there would be a great and funny moment. It wasn't necessarily laugh out loud funny but it did get a smile out of me. I especially enjoyed when the margarita machine showed up and they had to assemble and move it. It was a funny little scene followed by another that raised the rating for this novel. I live for those scenes. They totally saved this novel for me. Without them, I probably wouldn't have finished reading the book.

I think Sarah Dessen did a good job with the characters too. I wanted to hit Emaline's father, often. I thought Daisy was a great best friend. I loved Luke. Not only do I love that name but he was great. Other than one incident  he was perfect. I would rather Emaline be with Luke than Theo. I wanted to get rid of Theo. I didn't like him one bit. He was kind of annoying and I cannot believe that Emaline didn't see it and get rid of him. Love is stupid, I guess. The parts with Theo in them were really hard to read because, like I said, he was annoying but there was also something about him that made me just want to drive a spike through his head. It would have been the nauseating optimism which I lack but he had in abundance. I don't know what it was really but I didn't like it nor did I like him at all. Benji, on the other hand, I enjoyed a lot. He was a great kid and it totally made sense to me that he would feel the way he did. I'm glad Emaline stood up for him in the end; they were great together. I'm not sure I would have been so helpful with him as Emaline was. She was super nice to do all she did for him.

Thank God the last 35 pages were better than the first 400.

Final Thoughts: It was a pretty easy read but I expected a lot more from this novel. Of all  the Sarah Dessen books, this one is for sure my least favourite one. I wish it had been like the others. I might not read it again but this novel won't stop me from buying Sarah Dessen novels in the future. I still love her.

Fun Quotes: 

"It's a toaster oven," I said, "Not the proletariat."

"Some people would say disappointment is a good thing to learn young."

"True," he agreed, "But some people are assholes."

"I explained that texting means you don't have to talk to people, which turned out to be a concept he could really get behind."

The Catcher in the Rye

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: J.D. Salinger
Format: Paperback
Pages: 277
Rating: 6 out of 10

Summary (Goodreads): The hero-narrator of THE CATCHER IN THE RYE is an ancient child of sixteen, a native New Yorker named Holden Caulfield. Through circumstances that tend to preclude adult, secondhand description, he leaves his prep school in Pennsylvania and goes underground in New York City for three days. The boy himself is at once too simple and too complex for us to make any final comment about him or his story. Perhaps the safest thing we can say about Holden is that he was born in the world not just strongly attracted to beauty but, almost, hopelessly impaled on it. There are many voices in this novel: children's voices, adult voices, underground voices-but Holden's voice is the most eloquent of all. Transcending his own vernacular, yet remaining marvelously faithful to it, he issues a perfectly articulated cry of mixed pain and pleasure. However, like most lovers and clowns and poets of the higher orders, he keeps most of the pain to, and for, himself. The pleasure he gives away, or sets aside, with all his heart. It is there for the reader who can handle it to keep.

My Quick Thoughts: I can't really review this because, well, it's a super popular classic but I do have some thoughts. When I was in school people always mentioned this book so when my class didn't read it, I thought I was missing out but I wasn't missing out as much as I thought. Yes, it is a classic and if you read many of those you should read this one. However, it didn't really rock my world. I made it to the end and it was an easy enough read it being so short but it definitely won't be my new favourite but I could see maybe reading it again. It seemed to be one of those novels that you have to break down and think about while you read so that you can get everything out of it and I just wasn't up to analyzing it. 

There was a lot of swearing and the ending came suddenly without much of a wrap up.

If you liked Perks of Being a Wallflower than this book is similar so you might like it too.

Enjoy!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reviewer: Kristen 
My Rating: 9 out of 10

My Thoughts: I basically disagree with everything Kelsey said, as this is seriously one of my favourite novels. I think the reason I didn't like The Perks of Being a Wallflower as much as everyone else seems to is because I feel loyal to this book (Weird wording, can't do any better). This is one of my favourites, and will always be one of my favourites. J D Salinger is brilliant. 

Splintered

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: A. G. Howard
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 371
Rating: 8 out of 10

Summary (Where would we be without Goodreads?): This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.

When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

My Thoughts: This is one of those books that I was willing to stay up all night reading just so that I could get to the almost end. Sadly, I couldn't stay up all night and finish it. This is definitely a world you can get sucked into. It is much darker than Alice in Wonderland but that adds to the interest. 

This novel works at all kinds of emotions. At times you think that the main character is crazy but soon you find that you get pulled into this crazy world in which she lives. You are happy when she is happy, confused when she is confused, and sad when she is sad. Parts had me teary eyed. Other moments had me excited. The story is also very good at confusing one's feelings and emotions. Do you want her to be with guy A or guy B? You go back and forth. It hurt my head. This is because of how confused the main character is. It's good to have a little bit of this.

The characters are amazing. They all have depth, thank god. Sometimes they make you so angry then, moments later, they make your heart melt. One part of this story absolutely devastated me. Alyssa has to make a choice and chooses to save someone she loves. This choice has some sad consequences that I prayed would be undone but they weren't. Luckily, it all turns out okay. On the other hand, I realized that someone else would be saved. Figuring this out of my own took away from the plot a bit when it actually happened but, trust me, I was happy nonetheless! 

I have to be honest, I pretty much threw out what Alyssa looked like in my mind. I couldn't help it but I found that, every time there was a description of her, I had been imaging something else. The other characters, however, have descriptions that are hard to ignore, especially the Wonderland characters. They are so creative that they really capture you. I loved that they were the perfect, pretty characters from Alice in Wonderland. The author was very smart to add an explanation as to why the characters looked different than they did in Alice in Wonderland. I like that; it makes it more real to me. It also makes sense. 

In Closing: I think that you should give this book a shot but I definitely think it would be a good idea to read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass before this novel because, if you do, you can make connections that would otherwise be lost on you. One of the best parts of this story is that the author clearly did their homework. I love when I see a reference and notice it. I love being in the loop that way. I think that you should read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass, and Splintered, that's the moral of the story. 

Check out the author's blog for more information on this outstanding novel: http://anita-authoraghoward.blogspot.ca/

Origin

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Jessica Khoury
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 394
Rating: 8 out of 10

Summary (Goodreads is my favourite!): Pia has grown up in a secret laboratory hidden deep in the Amazon rain forest. She was raised by a team of scientists who have created her to be the start of a new immortal race. But on the night of her seventeenth birthday, Pia discovers a hole in the electric fence that surrounds her sterile home--and sneaks outside the compound for the first time in her life.

Free in the jungle, Pia meets Eio, a boy from a nearby village. Together, they embark on a race against time to discover the truth about Pia's origin--a truth with deadly consequences that will change their lives forever.

Origin is a beautifully told, shocking new way to look at an age-old desire: to live forever, no matter the cost.

What I Think: I really enjoyed this novel. I think that it is a very original idea. I felt that Pia was both a good use of my new Latin skills (It always helps to know what a name mean, authors really do think about that kind of thing) and a great character. I thought that she was strong and brave. Sure, at the beginning she was kind of closed-minded and uncaring but when I look back at it, of course she was like that! She had no concept of what the real world, or any part of the world for that matter, was like. I'm happy that she learned. I love characters that are curious and have drive. 

Another plus was that the author didn't just go with the 'immortality is okay' thing and run with it. I'm glad she threw in something to think about. She does it subtly too so you don't have to worry, the thinking involved doesn't hurt your head.

As I was reading, I kept thinking that this one part was super sad and stood out too much. I couldn't figure out what the significance was and it bothered me. When I did figure it out though, it hit my like a brick wall and my epiphany came a few pages too early. It wasn't a bad thing, it made me feel better.

Finally, I really want to know what ended up happening with the ants!

In Conclusion: I loved this novel. I would definitely consider reading it again and again. It was a pretty easy read so it didn't take me very long at all. It's a bit of a stretch on science and a little sad in a few part (I almost cried in class) but if you can get past these two things then you're golden and should check this book out.

Someone Like You

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Sarah Dessen
Pages: 281
Format: Paperback
Rating: 9 out of 10

Summary (GoodReads): Halley has always followed in the wake of her best friend, Scarlett. But when Scarlett learns that her boyfriend has been killed in a motorcycle accident, and that she's carrying his baby, she's devastated. For the first time ever, Scarlett really needs Halley. Their friendship may bend under the weight, but it'll never break--because a true friendship is a promise you keep forever.

My Take: For me this book hit far too close to home so I, of course, can relate to the story but you readers should know that things like this actually do really happen. I don't believe that I have ever related more to situations or characters. For the point of understand me, I'm Halley. It was very helpful to know that even though this is a work of fiction, people out there get it and they get you.

Some points during this novel scared me. I worried about some decisions that Scarlett might make. I think that I even yelled at thepages of the book a few times hoping that she would hear me and make the best choices. My parents think that I'm mental.

If you have ever read a Sarah Dessen novel before, you should stand up right now, log of your computer, phone, or Iwhatever and go buy one. Her novels are some of if not the best books that I have ever read. I own them all and have read them multiple times. I even already reviewed one of her novels (I think in October, check it out!). Her novels are always thebest combination of finding your true self, growing friendships, and young loves that make we wish I was a character in these books. Many of her characters go through so much but end up so happy. It's what every girl wants without losing the empowerment...feminist all the way ☺. You should really look into her novels is what I'm trying to say...Right now. Go.

Narrative Loserdom

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Ryan Collins
Pages: 204
Format: Paperback
Rating: 7 out of 10

Summary (from GoodReads): Justin Taggart doesn’t know anything (about being a loser). He likes girls and plays sports and has some friends. Unfortunately his fear of rejection outweighs his ability to deal with these well. Mostly there’s Sterling, the girl of his dreams who knows how to stop his heart by not knowing he likes her. Another thing is trying to get money with Adam, who’s rich anyway so it’s more about hanging out. As for Justin, he makes ends meet by mowing people’s yards with Adam, and sometimes by breaking into vending machines and selling late-night cable programming to peers (also with Adam). But it’s not like he doesn’t feel bad about it, since Jesus died for his sins. School is pretty terrible with all the work and practice, but there are a few people there worth mentioning. Anyone who picks up his journal will be in for something, if they feel like getting through a lot of grammar and spelling problems. They’ll probably end up seeing that they shouldn’t have looked at it anyway, because this is someone’s private anthem of girls, grass, and loserdom.

My Take: So I really did enjoy this book. The characters were somewhat relatable (they would have been more, had I been a boy...). I enjoyed the almost short story format in each of the journal entries. They made it very easy to just pick up the book and read. We also always had enough detail to understand each character and follow each story line.

The best part for me, however, was the moment in each story where I had the "omg, why are they going to do this? It's so stupid." but really it was the funniest thing that I'd ever heard. I also wish that I could get away with as much as these boys do. I was really rooting for them though. They had some real adventures.

Final Thoughts: It was a very interesting book and I was excited to see what kind of trouble the boys would find themselves in next. It was good that they were just normal boys doing normal things. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves journal type stories or trouble making boys. You really get a glimpse into the brain of a teenage boy. I would definitely recommend it if you are a 10-16 year old boy (not that it's not good for girls!). It was good.

Virals

Reviewer: Kelsey

Author: Kathy Reichs
Pages: 454
Format: Hardcover (available in paperback)
Rating: 8 out of 10

My Summary: Tory Brennan was probably born for adventure…and to be a geek. After all, her aunt is famous forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan. When she moves to the middle of nowhere with her father, a marine biologist, who she had never known, she has a hard time adjusting. She meets a few people who are just as geek as she is though and they have the same need for adventure.

This group of teens save a wolfdog pup from a secret lab only to end up being subjected to a rare strain of parvovirus which changed them and their DNA. With their new found talents they now have to solve a murder. Through it all they stick together.

My Take: Being a fan of Kathy Reichs novels really helped here. I already had a feel for her style of writing even if this was her first Young Adult novel. With Kathy Reichs always comes mystery, science, adventure, action, and of course murder with a side of good friendship. It sounds a bit crowded but I think that Kathy Reichs does it near flawlessly.

I think that this novel shows a really good set of friends. I’m not so sure that my friends would do for me what Tory’s did for and with her. Also, they may all be a bit geeky but they definitely all have their own personalities which keeps things interesting.

Plus, there is a lot of good suspense in the novel and I didn’t see the end coming, at least, not the whole end. It’s refreshing to read a novel where the end is a surprise but still makes sense. You ask yourself how you didn’t figure it out.

I believe that the book came out at a good time. There are many others of the like on shelves everywhere. None of those are quiet like this novel though.

I don't want to spoil anything so here is just a quick overview for the second book in the series:

Seizure

Author: Kathy Reichs
Rating: 8 out of 10

Brief Summarization: Ever since Tory Brennan and her friends rescued Cooper, a kidnapped wolf pup with a rare strain of canine parvovirus, they've turned from regular kids into a crime-solving pack. But now the very place that brought them together - the Loggerhead Island Research Institute - is out of funding and will have to shut down. That is, unless the Virals can figure out a way to save it.

So when Tory learns of an old Charleston legend about a famous she-pirate, Anne Bonney, whose fortune was never found, she can't believe her luck - buried treasure is exactly what she needs to save the Institute on Loggerhead! Trouble is, she and her friends aren't the only ones looking for it. And this time, the Virals' special powers may not be enough to dig them out of trouble . . .



Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Lewis Carroll
Pages: 239
Format: Paperback
Rating: 8 out of 10 (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland)
Rating: 5 out of 10 (Through the looking Glass)

Summary (Via GoodReads): Weary of her storybook, one "without pictures or conversations," the young and imaginative Alice follows a hasty hare underground -- to come face-to-face with some of the strangest adventures and most fantastic characters in all of literature. The Ugly Duchess, the Mad Hatter, the weeping Mock Turtle, the diabolical Queen of Hearts, the Cheshire Cat -- each more eccentric than the last -- could only have come from that master of sublime nonsense, Lewis Carroll. In penning this brilliant burlesque of children's literature, this farcical satire of rigid Victorian society, this arresting parody of the fears, anxieties, and complexities of growing up, Carroll was one of the few adult writers to enter successfully the children's world of make-believe, where the impossible becomes possible, the unreal, real, and where the heights of adventure are limited only by the depths of imagination.

My Thoughts: I really liked Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. It was super original and a bit crazy. Actually, it was a lot crazy. I think that perhaps somebody did a little bit too much drugs before sitting down at his desk. Then again, I have some pretty strange dreams too. The characters were unique which I love, nobody likes to read about the same characters over and over again. Sometimes it was so bizarre that I really had to stretch my already over-sized imagination. Good and classic, definitely worth reading at some point before you die.

On the other hand, Through the Looking Glass was a bit different. I didn't like it near as much. The plot and layout were well done, if you know how to play chess that is. I do so I could appreciate it. Again, the characters were interesting. Sadly, the continued strangeness that carried over from the first book was a bit too much. It seemed to be the same thing over and over again. For a dream, however, it was pretty good.

Final Comments: Read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and if it happens to be your favourite book ever than read Through the Looking Glass. At the very least, wait to read them. Don't read them back to back like I did unless you really like them. Good story though. Very different.

Perfect

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Natasha Friend
Pages: 172
Format: Paperback
Rating: 6 out of 10

Summary (Thanks GoodReads): Isabelle Lee has a problem, and it's not just Ape Face, her sister, or group therapy for an eating disorder, or even that her father died and her mother is depressed and in denial. It's that Ashley, the most popular girl in school, is inviting Isabelle to join her at lunch and at sleepovers at her house, and this is presenting Isabelle with a dilemma. Pretty Ashley has moved Isabelle up the social ladder, but is it worth keeping the secret they share? Caught in the orbit of popularity and appearances, Isabelle must navigate a world with mixed messages, false hopes, and potentially harmful turns, while coping with her own flailing family and emotions. The author brings a depth of characterization, humour, and a real adolescent's voice to this multileveled story about the desire to be perfect in an imperfect world.

My Thoughts: This book had a pretty hardcore topic. I won't try to sugarcoat it and neither did the author. I'm glad that she didn't. So many girls (and boys) live through this or things like this and for them it's hard to see an end in sight. This book shows that you can get better and that is just what people in this situation need to know. The author doesn't say that it's super easy just that it is possible. I love that.

Another great thing about this is that it's written how somebody might speak to you. That makes it a simple and quick read. In other words, it's short but its full of plot, getting better, learning to take care of yourself, and growing up.

P.S. I've gone through something very similar to this. It isn't just girls. If you are in the middle of something like this or are cutting, get help. You can get better. Find someone that you can talk to that make you feel better about yourself, not worse.

Wreath

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Judy Christie
Pages: 288
Format: eBook
Rating: 9 out of 10

Summary (from GoodReads): What do you do when you’re too young to be on your own but have no one to turn to? Sixteen-year-old Wreath Willis makes a list: Find a place to live. Buy cheap food. Finish high school. Get a job. Go to college. Now she’s finishing high school by day and squatting in a junkyard by night, flying below the authorities’ radar while she makes a few awkward friends and searches for an illusory “good life.” But when a teacher grows too suspicious, Wreath is afraid she’ll have to move on before she graduates. Could it be this was a good life?

My Take: This book started out fast. Right away we are thrown into her world, a world that I can honestly say I wouldn't want to be a part of. The beginning helps us to be able to understand why she does things later in the novel. Sadly, it started slowing down after she got a bit settled in. No worries though because it picks up again in a big bad way. This book made me laugh, made me cry...almost, and also made me angry when things weren't quiet going her way. Basically, I cared about Wreath so much. Really, by the end, I cared a lot about all of the characters but Wreath had many, many endearing qualities that made her special like a main character should be. I could also see a lot of myself in her and I kept wondering how I would deal with certain things that she had to deal with. She is so much stronger than I am, that's for sure.

I was happy with the length of this novel. It wasn't so short that I couldn't get into it or that there wasn't really a story. It also wasn't so long that I lost interest or felt like it was being dragged out too much. It was just enough time for me. Plus, I'm not a huge fan of books that take me months to read. I like to get my story, enjoy it and be done with it. This book was the perfect package of that. I would definitely read this again.

Final Thoughts: I would reccomend this book to anyone. It has a little bit of everything from sad moments to great laughs and even a bit of action. Who doesn't like a strong main character? You should really check this novel out! It's an enjoyable and rather quick read. I loved this story!

The Next Door Boys

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Jolene B. Perry
Pages: 272
Format: ARC (From NetGalley)
Rating: 9 out of 10

Summary (From GoodReads): With her body still recovering from last year's cancer treatments, Leigh Tressman is determined to be independent. Despite the interference from her overprotective brother, physical frustrations, and spiritual dilemmas— not to mention the ever expanding line of young men ready to fall in love with her— Leigh discovers what it actually means to stand on her own and learns that love can be found in unexpected but delightful places.

My Take: This book sounds like it is a bit depressing but trust me, it's no My Sister's Keeper. I'm not one for sad stories and that's good because this isn't one of those kinds of stories, not at all. Actually, it's the opposite. It's about getting better and happier and changing for the better. Plus, who doesn't enjoy a good love story.

The plot was easy to follow and there weren't so many characters that you would get lost of confused alone the way. I was slightly confused at the beginning because there is a big religious component in this novel but I was having a hard time figuring out exactly what was happening with that. I figured it out about half way through so no worries there!

Final Thoughts: I really did enjoy this novel. I would recommend it to people who have a religious or spirtual back ground or at least are able to follow along with it and for people who really love a good love story and all around happy ending.

Addison Blakely: Confessions of a PK

Reviwer: Kelsey
Title:  Addison Blakely: Confessions of a PK

Author: Betsey St. Amant
Pages: 368
Format: ARC - NetGalley
Rating: 8/10

 

My Summary: She never was really able to break out or break rules. Addison is in a tough place though because she is the preacher’s daughter and that’s all she will ever be. She’s okay with that until it starts getting in the way of her enjoying life. She loses her closest friend, she gets ‘voluntold’ into helping out with a school show, and she is stuck in an interesting triangle. Can she finally find a way to make her own choices without making her father look bad?

 

My Take: I loved this novel. I really did. I think that the reason for this is that I connected so quickly and so easily with Addison. She was exactly like me in so many ways and that made it easy for me get into the story and to fall in love with the characters. As I started getting closer and closer to the end I was practically yelling at some of the characters.

It was easy to read and follow. It was slip up perfectly. The one thing that I did noticed was that there seemed to be three smaller stories that made of the story as a whole. This is a normal thing of course but in this case it made the novel seem stretched out. As one short piece of the story was wrapping up I looked at the page count only to realize that I was in fact nowhere near the end even though that last disaster was resolved. I went through this same feeling three times and by the end was actually quite unsure as to where she was going. Would she get him or not? They only argued a page ago and the book ends in two. It was starting to get to me.

Being fairly religious already I could follow the religion that was basically the whole book. Without any background a person may have a hard time understanding how she is feeling and therefore might not agree with some of her choices. That being said, the religious aspect was done very well. It was not over done and enough background was given

Final Thoughts: I understood the characters and the troubles that they were all facing. I would recommend this book if you are okay reading with religion in mind.