Making Faces

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Amy Harmon
Format: eBook
Pages: 405
Rating: 6 out of 10 (I'm being harsh lately)

Summary (from the face of Goodreads): Ambrose Young was beautiful. He was tall and muscular, with hair that touched his shoulders and eyes that burned right through you. The kind of beautiful that graced the covers of romance novels, and Fern Taylor would know. She'd been reading them since she was thirteen. But maybe because he was so beautiful he was never someone Fern thought she could have...until he wasn't beautiful anymore.

Making Faces is the story of a small town where five young men go off to war, and only one comes back. It is the story of loss. Collective loss, individual loss, loss of beauty, loss of life, loss of identity. It is the tale of one girl's love for a broken boy, and a wounded warrior's love for an unremarkable girl. This is a story of friendship that overcomes heartache, heroism that defies the common definitions, and a modern tale of Beauty and the Beast, where we discover that there is a little beauty and a little beast in all of us.

Thoughts: I heard this was like Beauty and the Beast. I think that however said that lied. I didn't really think that it was much like Beauty and the Beast at all. I mean there were some similarities but none that make it stand out as some kind of story based off of it. The similarities were no more than any random book off the shelf. I was excited then torn down. I feel like my thinking it was Beauty and the Beast made me want to love it. I feel like I tried too hard and I may have even let that thinking get to me and stop me from realizing how good this book really was. It makes me sad.

Don't get me wrong. I did really like this book. I enjoyed that characters enough. It was an easy to read and understand story. It was even kind of cute. It was cute but also horribly predictable. I didn't like that I consistently saw where the story was going but I don't think that's how it should be. I think I should be a little surprised because that's half the fun. Maybe I'm too good at noticing foreshadowing. It's too bad that isn't what being an English major consists of or maybe I would have done a lot better. Alas, I digress...

There is a random love letter in the middle of the story from Jesse...I'm still not really sure where that came in. It just confused me a little bit so I didn't think too much about it.

I felt horrible for Rita but saw Bailey as the predictable, loving, helper, fixer friend. It's kind of an archetype. It made me sad but also really happy at the same time. He was great. He was a great friend and super smart. I love that he was insightful. I love that the other character realized what he was and how important he was. I felt the end to his part of the story-line went way too quickly. I think it maybe should have had a bit more story meat.

I am soooooooo tired of girls who think they are ugly getting the guy of their dreams. I'm tired of girls that don't think they are pretty but are actually beautiful. Just once, can the girl just be ugly? Just once, let her be ugly but let it not matter. Let the guy talk about how much he loved her for her. Don't even mention what she looks like. Don't mention her body images. I understand that it is realistic but please, for the love of God, can we care less about what the main character looks like. I'm not sure how we can accomplish this, I just want it done, okay? Thanks.

I thought that the ending for this novel was sufficient but that's the best I can say about it. That's actually kind of harsh. I think that it fairly wrapped everything up. I do, however, feel like there were two ending and that kind of bothered me. I was reading the last chapter thinking it was the epilogue but then I got to the epilogue and it was just weird. I wasn't sure how to take that. One book should only mean one ending.

So: It was quick, easy, painless ( just kidding, that's a bit of a lie ), and insightful. I love how Fern views the world. I love how good friends they all become. I love how it ended because everything was wrapped up and completed. I could see reading this again. Would recommend to those looking for a love story with some action and emotion. 

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.

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.

The Last Song

Reviewer: Kristen 

Author: Nicholas Sparks
Pages: 463

Format: Paperback

My Rating: 9 out of 10

Summary (From GoodReads): Seventeen year-old Veronica “Ronnie” Miller’s life was turned upside-down when her parents divorced and her father moved from New York City to Wilmington, North Carolina. Three years later, she remains angry and alienated from her parents, especially her father… until her mother decides it would be in everyone’s best interest if she spent the summer in Wilmington with him. Ronnie’s father, a former concert pianist and teacher, is living a quiet life in the beach town, immersed in creating a work of art that will become the centerpiece of a local church. The tale that unfolds is an unforgettable story about love in its myriad forms – first love, the love between parents and children – that demonstrates, as only a Nicholas Sparks novel can, the many ways that deeply felt relationships can break our hearts… and heal them. 

My take: As you can probably see, this is one of my favourite novels. I love the characters that Sparks created. What gets me is how realistic he paints this family portrait; the angsty teenage daughter and the innocent younger brother. I felt a connection to the family, particularly the father. This book has been crafted beautifully, and with characters so relate-able you can't help but share the laughter, the heartaches and the tears. Will and Ronnie's romance is raw and real, and you can almost feel how they are feeling. The problems that arise are problems that have/could/would arise in reality. The one thing that took away from this book for me is the alternating perspectives. The chapters being so short, I found it hard to keep up with whose thought process I was navigating. Also, I felt there was a few characters whom I didn't care to read through their perspective. This is one of the major reasons this book isn't a 10 out of 10. To this day, most books can not make me cry, yet this book is tear stained - particularly at the end. This heart-wrenching story made me cry more than once. I would recommend this book for anyone in need of a good cry, or anyone looking for a romance so loving you feel as though you're apart of it and a family strength that is astounding.    

Conclusion: I know a lot of people who won't read this novel simply because Miley Cyrus stared in the movie. Don't let that be the reason you don't read this amazing novel! Nicholas Sparks has created such a master piece, don't let this one slip between your fingertips!