The List ~ Siobhan Vivian

Title: The List
Author: Siobhan Vivian
Pub Date: April 1, 2012
Publisher: Scholastic / Push
Pages: 332
Author website: http://www.siobhanvivian.com

GoodReads: An intense look at the rules of high school attraction -- and the price that's paid for them.

It happens every year. A list is posted, and one girl from each grade is chosen as the prettiest, and another is chosen as the ugliest. Nobody knows who makes the list. It almost doesn't matter. The damage is done the minute it goes up.

This is the story of eight girls, freshman to senior, "pretty" and "ugly." And it's also the story of how we see ourselves, and how other people see us, and the tangled connection of the two.

 "The perception of beauty is a moral test." Henry David Thoreau

Eight girls.
One list.
Pretty or ugly.
For Danielle, Abby, Candace, Lauren, Sarah, Bridget, Jennifer, and Margo their lives will never be the same. Who will rise above the list? And who will overcome it? 

Originally, I thought reading a book from eight different POVs would not work, but it did. Granted, i did have to post-it note the list page so I could refer back to it! Each and every reaction was different; some expected, and some not so much. For most, the list is petty, frivolous, and a status symbol. But for others it has devastating effects: eating disorder, failing grades, broken relationships, and loss of friendships. Family relations are strained for some of the girls. But for one girl, she shines and grows as a result of the list. Is it for the better though?


I thought this was a great book. If not for list copycats sprouting up in school, I'd put this on my "Should be Read in School" shelf-but no. Reading it, I felt like I was back in high school dealing with the cliques, the popular crowd, the outcasts, etc. 


The only character I truly felt connected to was Bridget. Of them all, the list had the most impact, and as a result, her story arc felt the most real. Then there is Candace. She who is pretty on the outside, but so so ugly on the inside. It may be mean, but I enjoyed her fall. And lastly, Jennifer and Margo. They used to be BFFs and now they aren't, and on opposite sides of the list. What was the real reason for their split?


There were a couple issues I had with the book overall. The biggest though was the clothing. Wool skirts? Cardigans? I had trouble buying into the wardrobe choices for these girls. The only one who actually made sense was Sarah: jeans, black tshirt. 

The ending left me with my jaw dropped. I didn't expect it at all! But I thought it was utterly beautiful. One of my favorite book endings ever.

"She's surprised by the weight.
Obviously the rhinestones wouldn't be diamonds, but X had always assumed the tiara would be metal.
It wasn't.
It was plastic."

Beautiful. And sums everything up perfectly.

Dark Companion ~ Marta Acosta

Title: Dark Companion
Author: Marta Acosta
Pub Date: July 3, 2012
Publisher: Tor Teen
368 pages
Author website: www.martaacosta.com
Review Copy courtesy of Publisher via NetGalley

From Good Reads:
When foster teen Jane Williams is invited to attend elite Birch Grove Academy for Girls and escape her violent urban neighborhood, she thinks the offer is too good to be true. She's even offered her own living quarters, the groundskeeper's cottage in the center of the birch grove.
Something's not quite right about the school -- or is it Jane? She thinks she sees things in the birch grove at night. She's also beginning to suspect that the elegant headmistress and her sons are hiding secrets. Lucky is the gorgeous, golden son who is especially attentive to Jane, and Jack is the sardonic puzzling brother.
The school with its talented teachers and bright students is a dream for a science and math geek like Jane. She also loves her new friends, including hilarious poetry-spouting rich girl, Mary Violet. But the longer Jane stays at Birch Grove, the more questions she has about the disappearance of another scholarship girl and a missing faculty member.
Jane discovers one secret about Birch Grove, which only leads to more mysteries. What is she willing to sacrifice in order to stay at this school...and be bound to Birch Grove forever?


Oh, Dark Companion, how I love you. Let me count the ways!

1. The first sentence that instantly drew me in and began my reading frenzy of the book.
2. Mary Violet
3. The vocabulary (inchoate, vex, amok, susarration)
4. Witty exchanges
5. The suspense!
6. Modern twist on  a subject
7. The ending!

The more I read, the more I had to know what exactly was going on. Early on, I had to train my brain to understand that this book was CONTEMPORARY and not one set in the past. That took a little doing, but in the end I left the past behind!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I got to say, I did not see it coming. I can't tell you what 'it' is because then that wold ruin the book...but wow. I thought I had it figured out early early on, but dismissed it because Marta informed me it was a contemporary novel and not a paranormal novel. So ... wow. 

Jane was the lead character. You can tell she has been handed the world on a silver platter. Every so often, she can't let go of her behaviors and habits from living in foster systems. She hides her stash of money, etc. She is wary of cars driving slowly. Jane is street smart.She doesn't let anyone treat her like crap. Including Lucky. That pompous jerk named Lucky who thinks he can order her around. Pft. Jane is so much better than that, and she all but tells him. Yet, it doesn't stop her from being his. Then again, can you blame her? She spent all her life being alone; suddenly this gorgeous guy wants her to be his, to be his closest confidante. What else would she do?


One of my favorite exchanges in the book happens between Jane and her new friend Mary Violet.

"Why do the girls here say 'coitus' all the time?"
"Because you can tell someone to 'coitus off' and you won't get detention."

Lol. That Mary Violet. She is just too much! MV is a fabulous girl who uses French in her everyday language, even though she can't speak any French.


So, what should you do for 4th of July? Well, you should be reading Dark Companion! And then go chit chat with Marta, she is an awesome woman!

 

Scars ~ Cheryl Rainfield (Trigger Warning)

Title: Scars
Author: Cheryl Rainfield
Pub Date: March 2010
Publisher: Westside Books
Author website: www.cherylrainfield.com
248 pages
Review source: Publisher via NetGalley

From GoodReads:
Kendra, fifteen, hasn't felt safe since she began to recall devastating memories of childhood sexual abuse, especially because she still can't remember the most important detail-- her abuser's identity. Frightened, Kendra believes someone is always watching and following her, leaving menacing messages only she understands. If she lets her guard down even for a minute, it could cost Kendra her life. To relieve the pressure, Kendra cuts; aside from her brilliantly expressive artwork, it's her only way of coping. Since her own mother is too self-absorbed to hear her cries for help, Kendra finds support in others instead: from her therapist and her art teacher, from Sandy, the close family friend who encourages her artwork, and from Meghan, the classmate who's becoming a friend and maybe more. But the truth about Kendra's abuse is just waiting to explode, with startling unforeseen consequences. Scars is the unforgettable story of one girl's frightening path to the truth.


  One word to describe this book? RAW

Kendra has been raped and sexually abused for ten years. But she does not remember who did it to her. Therapy sessions are helping her to uncover who did it, but it doesn't help that she is being stalked by her attacker.

Kendra has two outlets for her pain: art and cutting. Her parents, while they know what happened to her are absolutely clueless as to what she is going through. Her mom is detached and wants everything to be fixed NOW and doesn't understand why Kendra needs therapy. Her dad is kept in the dark by the mom, but yet he pushes to understand and see if Kendra can remember who it was.

As she comes closer to remembering, her world is tossed upside down due to job cutbacks for her father, dwindling finances that would force her to quit therapy. And she meets another broken girl whom she falls in love with.


All in all, this book felt more of a recovery story than it did about abuse. And that is so not a bad thing-it's good. Too often we read about the abuse, but the stories often stop after the assailant is captured or stopped. Scars gives us a look into the aftermath of the abuse. Rainfield did a superb job of exposing your emotions and preying on them. At times I felt disgusted, nauseated, and just plain sad. The author's note explains that she used to cut. This gave an extra knowledge to the story-it wasn't just a story.


From the time that I finished this book till now, a couple weeks or more have passed. And I am still thinking about the book. A book that stays around your mind for a while is a powerful book.


Please see the previous post for a resource list that Cheryl gave me permission to reprint. She had such great descriptions that I wanted to share.

One Moment ~ Kristina McBride

Title: One Moment
Author: Kristina McBride
Pub Date: June 26, 2012
Publisher: EgmontUSA
272 pages
Author website: http://kristinamcbride.com/
Review copy courtesy of: Publisher via NetGalley


What should have been the precursor to the best summer ever turned into tragedy for Maggie. She was on a cliff with her boyfriend, Joey, getting ready to jump into the creek to her friends waiting below. But something goes wrong.

Instead of an amazing summer with Joey, Maggie and their friends are dealing with his death. Maggie was the only one on the cliff with him, but cannot remember what happened that caused him to die.

Told in a first person point of view, Maggie dips back into the past with flashes of memories involving Joey. With the help of her friends and a counselor, Maggie begins to remember what happened that day on the cliff. But maybe she was better off NOT remembering.

Instead of an amazing summer with six friends, their friendships begin to crumble as one dies, one withdraws, one can't remember what happened, and one is hiding something.


I loved this book. It was a quick read and fabulous. Maggie, Joey, Shannon, and Adam were memorable characters. Tanna and Pete were very much tertiary characters, yet they had some of the most important things to say. This is one aspect that makes One Moment succeed. Every book has forgettable characters; but McBride takes those and gives them a part in which they are less forgettable. 

One Moment takes the reader through a roller coaster of emotions. Jump on the roller coaster, jump in, just read it! And part of what makes this book fabulous in my weird opinion-the ending is not all wrapped up in a nice bow. Thank you Kristina.

Flirting in Italian ~ Lauren Henderson

Title: Flirting in Italian
Author: Lauren Henderson
Publication Date: June 12, 2012
Publisher: Random House / Delacorte Press
272 pages
Review Source: copy from publisher via NetGalley

From GoodReads:

Four girls. One magical, and possibly dangerous Italian summer. Family mysteries, ancient castles, long hot nights of dancing under the stars . . . and, of course, plenty of gorgeous Italian boys!



 
This was quite a different book than the Kiss Me, Kill Me series. I loved this one, and will definitely be reading the next in the series!

Violet is in a museum, starring at an 18th century painting of herself...but wait, this is 2012-how is it a painting of Violet? Apparently it's not; it's an anonymous painting and painter. But wow, does it look like Violet!

After doing some research, Violet decides it is time to go to Italy to see more of these paintings, find out if she's adopted (since she looks NOTHING like her family), and last to see if there are any more paintings of her. Thus, she enrolls in a language immersion program with three other girls: one other Brit, and two Americans. Once they get used to each other, the girls start getting along and are all doing okay with the program and having fun at that.

As for the flirting in Italian, well the other girls are doing good with that. Violet, yeah not so much. She looks 'too Italian' at least that's what Luca tells her. Luca who Violet is smitten with, Luca who likes kiss her, and the same Luca who happens to be a sort of prince at the castle Violet needs to investigate for discovering information about those paintings.

In the process of discovering her past, Violet is almost killed! Will she ever find out the truth? And could it be the worst possible truth of all...are Violet and Luca related?

Breaking Beautiful ~ Jennifer Shaw Wolf

Title: Breaking Beautiful
Author: Jennifer Shaw Wolf
Publisher: Walker Childrens
Pub Date: April 2012
Pages: 354
*subject content does include abusive relationship/situation.

Rating: 4/5


When this book first came available on NetGalley, I wavered about getting it; but now I am glad I did. It was such a strong book for a debut. And somehow I initially missed that there was abuse in the story, so when it showed up I was a bit taken back.

Allie and her boyfriend Tripp were in a car accident. She survived, but he didn't. Unfortunately, Allie has no recollection of the accident, or even the night of the accident.

As police re-open the investigation she is forced to try and remember more. And slowly, pieces  begin coming back to her. But remembering (and telling) are hard, especially when the beloved dead golden boy was an abusive prick. His own friends turned a blind eye when Tripp would beat Allie in front of them.

Will Allie be able to remember what happened, and more importantly to tell what was really happening before someone else gets hurt? Someone else like her new friend/boyfriend. Apparently to Tripp's family and friends, Allie should still be in mourning and not making eyes at a new guy.


Even though Allie knows she doesn't still need to be, she is still afraid of Tripp. His memory, his presence are so strong that Allie cannot relax. She is also still getting notes from him, and everytime she lets go of something from him, it ends up back with her.

There was so much emotion in this book. Granted, many times throughout I got pissed at Allie-why didn't she just say he beat her?! But then again, that shows just how strong Tripp's hold of her was. Even in death she can't betray him.  Looking at the book cover, it occurs to me that this is probably one of the most appropriate book covers ever. Having images of people would not have done justice. Instead, missing shoes, a guardrail, and a beach in the background speak volumes to what the book contains.

The Unbearable Book Club for Unsinkable Girls ~ Julie Schumacher

Title: The Unbearable Book Club for Unsinkable Girls
Author: Julie Schumacher
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Pub Date: May 8, 2012

(Borrowed from GoodReads)
I'm Adrienne Haus, survivor of a mother-daughter book club. Most of us didn't want to join. My mother signed me up because I was stuck at home all summer, with my knee in a brace. CeeCee's parents forced her to join after cancelling her Paris trip because she bashed up their car. The members of "The Unbearable Book Club," CeeCee, Jill, Wallis, and I, were all going into eleventh grade A.P. English. But we weren't friends. We were literary prisoners, sweating, reading classics, and hanging out at the pool. If you want to find out how membership in a book club can end up with a person being dead, you can probably look us up under mother-daughter literary catastrophe. Or open this book and read my essay, which I'll turn in when I go back to school.



When this book showed up on NetGalley, I grabbed it. But I left it on my Nook, debating if I wanted to read it or not. But I decided to read it-I've kind of been on a Contemporary kick lately and wanted another one. Immediately I was hooked. This book was just so much MORE than I could have hoped for!

The story starts with an assignment page for an 11th Grade AP English class. Adrienne Haus is the protagonist (to use some of her literary terms) and she is the voice of the novel. At the end of her essay opening she states "And I'll explain how the books affected me-because whoever I was a the beginning of the summer, I am not that person anymore." This statement set the tone for the novel and I needed to know HOW she was different.

Four girls, three mothers, one summer book club. And none of the girls are friends or even really know or like each other, but somehow, it works. Through Adrienne we learn about each girl, and we see how the summer affected them and brought on growth for them. Will the events that took place during the fifth and final meeting mean the end for their tenuous friendship, or will the school year bring on something completely new and different?

I loved Adrienne's voice. She was snarky, sarcastic, yet lovable and lost. I felt connected to her and hurt when she hurt. Her relationship with her mother felt real-more real than other YA novels.

You will not be disappointed with this book! 

Radiate ~ Marley Gibson

Hayley Matthews has one big dream for her senior year: CHEERLEADING. She gives up marching band in order to be a cheerleader. But before her debut is official, she finds a lump on her leg. Her senior year dream did not involve cancer, but nonetheless she got it.

Throughout the fight Hayley never loses her spirit. She keeps upbeat and decides that cancer is not going to win; instead, Hayley is going to win. But that doesn't mean there won't be challenges for Hayley-evil cheer captains, walking, boys, etc.

For the most part, I enjoyed this book. At times her positivity irritated me. I know that sounds horrible, and that there really are people who just that positive, but it was tiresome for me. At the beginning of each chapter, there are quotes from various people. I enjoyed these quotes-they were quite uplifting, and at times matched the chapter's content.

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear." -Ambrose Redmoon

Cancer sucks. There is just not way around it. I am so thrilled that there are positive books regarding cancer. Sitting here, I can think of at least 3 titles (excluding Lurlene McDaniels) where the books have a not so happy ending. And there are more, I know that. So it is good that people can read about the positive changes cancer can cause.

Unbreak My Heart ~ Melissa C. Walker

Clem is spending the summer cooped up with her parents and little sister, Olive, on a boat. She really doesn't want to be there, but she wants to be home even less. Something happened and now she is a social pariah. As a result, Clem lost her best friend and she is now depressed and spending as much time alone as possible-not an easy task when you're on a 40 foot boat!

At a port one day, Clem bumps into a red haired guy named James. They keep running into each other on the sea and land. Can James pull Clem out of her funk? Can he help heal her?

All in all, this was a beautiful book. I absolutely adored it, and I am so glad I read it after being disappointed with Small Town Sinners. But somehow I could not put this one down and fell in love. I hope you like it too!

If you're like me, once you find out 'what Clem did' it is probably going to piss you off. The unfairness of it is just ridiculous... UGH! But, sadly, it is very realistic and is quite a common occurrence.

The International Kissing Club ~ Ivy Adams

 
Junior year starts off with a plop for Piper, Cassidy, Mei, and Izzy. And by plop, I mean utter humiliation. That is, until the school counselor introduces a new program available to the school: International Exchange Students. What a perfect way to put the horrible beginning behind them. So, with each girl heading off to four different countries, they decide to create the International Kissing Club and score points for kissing different guys. Bringing a bit of currency to the book, the girls use Facebook as their platform. So of course, being Facebook, the IKC takes on a life of its own. But, things do not go as smoothly as each girl hoped. In fact, it could spell disaster for them!


What can i say about a book that had a not so perfect ending? YAY! Seriously, I am a bit over the happy ending, all tied up with ribbons and bows books. Real life is not like that. Which is part of what made the International Kissing Club great. In reality, each girl had her own reason for running to another country, and those issues were not completely resolved. This made the book very realistic to me.

My only complaint from the book is Piper. There was something about her that just got my hackles all up in arms. Nonetheless, I'm also happy I did not like all of the characters.

All in all, an enjoyable book by the collective of Tracy Deebs, Emily McKay, and Shellee Roberts.