CAN'T WAIT TO READ: I'm Not Your Manic Pixie Dream Girl by Gretchen McNeil

Release date: September 13th 2016
Publisher: HarperCollins
Purchase: Amazon

Synopsis via Goodreads:

Beatrice Maria Estrella Giovannini has life all figured out. She's starting senior year at the top of her class, she’s a shoo-in for a scholarship to M.I.T., and she’s got a new boyfriend she’s crazy about. The only problem: All through high school Bea and her best friends Spencer and Gabe have been the targets of horrific bullying.

So Bea uses her math skills to come up with The Formula, a 100% mathematically-guaranteed path to social happiness in high school. Now Gabe is on his way to becoming Student Body President, and Spencer is finally getting his art noticed. But when her boyfriend dumps her for Toile, the quirky new girl at school, Bea realizes it's time to use The Formula for herself. She'll be reinvented as the eccentric and lovable Trixie—a quintessential manic pixie dream girl—in order to win her boyfriend back and beat new-girl Toile at her own game.

Unfortunately, being a manic pixie dream girl isn't all it's cracked up to be, and “Trixie” is causing unexpected consequences for her friends. As The Formula begins to break down, can Bea find a way to reclaim her true identity, and fix everything she's messed up? Or will the casualties of her manic pixie experiment go far deeper than she could possibly imagine?

About the Author

Gretchen McNeil is an opera singer, a writer, and a clown. She is also the author of Get Even as well as Ten, which was a 2013 YALSA Top Ten Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, a Romantic Times Top Pick, and an ALA Booklist Top Ten Horror Fiction for Youth and was nominated for Best Young Adult Contemporary Novel of 2012 by Romantic Times. Gretchen blogs with the Enchanted Inkpot and is a founding member of the vlog group the YARebels.

www.gretchenmcneil.com

facebook.com/AuthorGretchenMcNeil

twitter.com/GretchenMcNeil

instagram.com/gretchen_mcneil

Review: Weightless by Sarah Bannan

Release date: June 30th 2015
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Purchase: Amazon | B&N

Synopsis via Goodreads:

When 15-year-old Carolyn moves from New Jersey to Alabama with her mother, she rattles the status quo of the junior class at Adams High School. A good student and natural athlete, she’s immediately welcomed by the school’s cliques. She’s even nominated to the homecoming court and begins dating a senior, Shane, whose on again/off again girlfriend Brooke becomes Carolyn’s bitter romantic rival. 

When a video of Carolyn and Shane making out is sent to everyone, Carolyn goes from golden girl to slut, as Brooke and her best friend Gemma try to restore their popularity. Gossip and bullying hound Carolyn, who becomes increasingly private and isolated. When Shane and Brooke—now back together—confront Carolyn in the student parking lot, injuring her, it’s the last attack she can take.

Sarah Bannan's deft use of the first person plural gives Weightless an emotional intensity and remarkable power that will send you flying through the pages and leave you reeling.

*Received physical ARC from the publisher in exchange of an honest review.

Weightless has some serious issues that can't be written about enough. I was literally sick to my stomach throughout the book with the way these kids, and the adults, acted. Not only with the bullying, but there was also racial discrimination among other things that made me cringe. The whole time I was reading I kept thinking how vain and ignorant these people were. How ridiculous it was that they valued materialistic things and in their twisted and oblivious minds believed that it was okay to treat people like that. There aren't enough words on the planet to describe their shameless behavior, and the sad thing about it is that this is reality. Horrible things like this happens everyday. 

For Carolyn, her level of emotional and mental torture heightened by the day. When they weren't slut shaming the poor girl, they were physically putting her through hell. I wanted so badly for someone to stand up for her, for someone to try and help. Carolyn needed it. She was screaming loud and clear but no one offered. Outsiders were too busy feeding into the gossip and turning a blind eye. Even the narrator, which was never named, was caught up in the nonsense and whenever they'd witness something happening to Carolyn they never did anything. Yet they claimed they liked her and wanted to be her friend. They even blamed her for what others were doing to her, basically saying she caused it on herself.

Again, there are many deplorable things that happened in the story and that makes Weightless worth the read. The writing is great and I like how the author painted a clear picture of this small town setting and how these people lived. But my biggest issue was with the wordiness and often times I felt disconnected and had to stop reading for a while. But aside from that, this book is the epitome of real. The emotions were definitely there. I mean, if I began to express how aggravated these characters left me I'd probably give too much of the story away. 

All I can say is that Weightless is an intense read, and you should go in knowing that you won't like the narrator because even after what happened to Carolyn, they never held themselves accountable and you just might barf at how they simply went on with their lives, which again is realistic because sadly, that sort of thing happens. And I'm afraid that no matter what, bullying is something that will continue to plague society. The question is, will you be like the people in this book and do nothing, pretend to be oblivious and go on with your life? Or will you stand up and make a difference?

About the Author

Sarah Bannan was born in 1978 in upstate New York. She graduated from Georgetown University in 2000 and then moved to Ireland, where she has lived ever since. She is the Head of Literature at the Irish Arts Council and lives in Dublin with her husband and daughter.

www.sarahbannan.com

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Review: Random by Tom Leveen

Release date: August 12th 2014
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Purchase: Amazon

Synopsis via Goodreads:

Who's the real victim here? This tense and gripping exploration of cyberbullying and teen suicide is perfect for fans of Before I Fall and Thirteen Reasons Why.

Late at night Tori receives a random phone call. It's a wrong number. But the caller seems to want to talk, so she stays on the line.

He asks for a single thing—one reason not to kill himself.

The request plunges her into confusion. Because if this random caller actually does what he plans, he'll be the second person connected to Tori to take his own life. And the first just might land her in jail. After her Facebook page became Exhibit A in a tragic national news story about cyberbullying, Tori can't help but suspect the caller is a fraud. But what if he’s not? Her words alone may hold the power of life or death.

With the clock ticking, Tori has little time to save a stranger—and maybe redeem herself—leading to a startling conclusion that changes everything…

*Received physical copy from publisher in exchange of an honest review.

Let me just say that I glimpsed this one on Goodreads a few weeks ago and mentioned it in a WoW post because I was intrigued by the plot. So yeah, I was definitely anticipating it and thankfully, it was what I'd expected it to be: intense.

Random is a good depiction of how a teen becomes a bully, even though she's not quite aware of the fact that she did turn out to be one. And trust me, Tori is not your average sweet and innocent protagonist. She's quite a trip. I can see a lot of readers not liking her character because of her conceited thoughts and some of the things she'd say, but I believe that's the intention the author was going for and it worked. 

Tori is selfish. Her part in what happened was just sad. But regardless of it all, she still didn't have a full grasp of how even though she didn't actually kill her friend, she did help in driving him over the edge. 

At first when she received that random phone call, I was like, no, something's fishy here. But then once Andy began talking he really convinced me that he was on the verge of committing suicide, and I was curious as to how this obviously selfish girl who was on trial for her part in another suicide would help Andy change his mind. I think that, in trying to keep him alive, I got to learn something about Tori. She wasn't as bad as I'd initially thought and had clearly done something stupid just to fit in with a crowd she considered cool. It took most of the book for her to realize that and I wanted to slap the hell out of her so many times. And to be honest, when the whole thing with Andy was unraveled, I wasn't sorry for her. She needed the wake up and I don't blame Andy and the others for doing that. She sort of snapped back to her old self. Like I said, not a lot of people can stomach Tori as a main character, but it worked for me. I see the purpose of the story and what the author is trying to accomplish. And I think he did a great job in emphasizing his intentions.

I read Random in one sitting because it was really fast-paced and the writing was good. It pulled me in greatly. I was invested in the story from start to finish. It was different for me, seeing the perspective of a "bully" and the reaction of everyone after a bullied teen had taken his life. It's not often you get this side of the story and I'm glad I gave Random a chance. It was a great story, to me. I liked that the character was flawed, but I'm also happy that she experienced growth, or more like returned to her true self--to the person her brother, best friend, and parents can be proud of. She may not be able to change what happened, but at least she recognizes her part in it and can genuinely say that she's apologetic. There was more going on aside from the main topic of bullying, but I don't want to spoil it for you. I can only say that this is a good story for those looking for something realistic and intense to read. I highly recommend.

About the Author

Tom Leveen has 22 years of theatre experience as an actor and director. He was the Artistic Director and a co-founder of two companies: Chyro Arts Venue, an all-ages nonprofit visual and performing venue; and Is What It Is Theatre, a community theatre that operated for 13 seasons. Tom lives with is wife and son in the Phoenix area. PARTY was his first novel, followed by ZERO (a 2013 YALSA Best Book) and MANICPIXIEDREAMGIRL, all with Random House. His fourth novel, SICK, a YA horror, will be released in Fall 2013 from Abrams/Amulet.

tomleveen.com | TWITTER | FACEBOOK

Review: Invisible by Cecily Paterson

Release date: February 11th 2013
Publisher:Cecily Paterson
Purchase: Free on Amazon

Synopsis via Goodreads:

Jazmine Crawford doesn't make decisions. She doesn't make choices. She doesn't make friends. Jazmine Crawford only wants one thing: to be invisible. For Jazmine, it's a lot easier to take out her hearing aid and drift along pretending that nothing's wrong than it is to admit that she's heartbroken. She starts to come out of her shell when she's forced to be in the school play and even makes friends with bouncy Gabby and chocolate-loving Liam. But can she stand up to the school bully, and is she strong enough to face the truth about what really happened to her dad?

*Got a free copy from Amazon Kindle

This story was different to me in some ways. It involved aspects I'd never read about before, like the main character having a disability, and the fact that the main setting is Australia. With that said, it was both intriguing and refreshing to experience something...out of the ordinary to me.

Jazmine had a lot to deal with; she lost her father a few years ago and his death placed a huge gap in the relationship she had with her mother. Then again, there was more to his death that her mother kept hidden from Jaz and that was the main problem keeping them from re-establishing the bond they had before. Aside from that, Jaz has her hearing issue to cope with and pretending to be invisible helps her shield herself from the scrutiny of outsiders. She finally starts to believe she's making friends but they turn out to be the wrong crowd for her, hence, how she ended up working on the school play.

Throughout the story, we get to see Jazmine learning to open up. Partly due to her expressing her feelings more in words, and trying something new. She starts really good friendships and even experience some romance. The best part for me though, was when she and her mother started to get back that closeness they once had. It was all going well until a certain nasty individual returns to Jazmine's life and causes chaos, then we really discover just how emotionally wrecked the main character is. 

I think one of the reasons I liked this story is because I can relate to Jazmine, being that she's shy and sometimes fearful about opening up to people. The story really tugs at your heart with some of the things she'd even consider in private. Like questioning her self-worth for instance. There were times I just wanted to reach into the page and give her tight hug. She needed it. Thankfully, towards the end, Jazmine allowed happiness to find her.

Overall, Invisible was a really good story. This young character was well developed and very interesting to learn about. And I liked how the author pulled me into what was happening right up till the very last line. Cecily definitely made a fan out of me and I'd love to read more of her work. 

About the Author

Cecily Paterson grew up as an expat in Pakistan until the age of 16. She went to a British day school and then an international boarding school so her accent has always been a bit of a mix. 

She studied french, law and politics and university before getting into editing, where she's stayed ever since. 

Cecily has wanted to be a bestselling author since the age of 8 when she won the White Essay Cup at her school, beating 10 and 11 year olds to the prize. 

She is the mother of four children and lives in a beautiful little tourist town in New South Wales, Australia.

cecilypaterson.squarespace.com | twitter.com/CecilyPaterson

Review: The s-word by Chelsea Pitcher

The s-word
by Chelsea Pitcher
Paperback, 304 pages
Released: May 7th 2013
Publisher: Gallery Books
Purchase: Amazon | BookDepository
*A copy was gifted by the author.

Synopsis via Goodreads:

First it was SLUT scribbled all over Lizzie Hart’s locker.

But one week after Lizzie kills herself, SUICIDE SLUT replaces it—in Lizzie's looping scrawl.

Lizzie’s reputation is destroyed when she's caught in bed with her best friend’s boyfriend on prom night. With the whole school turned against her, and Angie not speaking to her, Lizzie takes her own life. But someone isn’t letting her go quietly. As graffiti and photocopies of Lizzie’s diary plaster the school, Angie begins a relentless investigation into who, exactly, made Lizzie feel she didn’t deserve to keep living. And while she claims she simply wants to punish Lizzie’s tormentors, Angie's own anguish over abandoning her best friend will drive her deep into the dark, twisted side of Verity High—and she might not be able to pull herself back out.

Debut author Chelsea Pitcher daringly depicts the harsh reality of modern high schools, where one bad decision can ruin a reputation, and one cruel word can ruin a life. Angie’s quest for the truth behind Lizzie’s suicide is addictive and thrilling, and her razor-sharp wit and fierce sleuthing skills makes her impossible not to root for—even when it becomes clear that both avenging Lizzie and avoiding self-destruction might not be possible.

I have mix feelings in regards to the story. There were aspects that stood out emotionally and realistically. Like the main topics: bullying and abuse. Then there was Angie and her mission to seek vengeance. I wasn't really understanding that concept but as the story went along I developed a interest. And even though I didn't exactly relate with her character, there were attributes I thought came out really well: feeling regret and the sense of hatred towards everyone as well as herself. I also liked that towards the end she started loving herself again and she grew to love someone else as well. 

Jesse's character was confusing to me as it was to Angie. I enjoyed having him in the story because he brought on some humor as well as serious discoveries. I liked how he and Angie were with each other and how natural and unforced their feelings were. 

Other things I thought were well delivered was the strong factor of the effects of bullying, and the main character wanting do something about it the more mature she got throughout the story. What happened to Lizzie was terrible. And no one should ever experience that. The fact that people tormented her after what happened prom night was like being violated all over again. Regardless if they found out what happened to her, I'm pretty sure they'd only keep hurting her because it was just how they were. Its sad that her best friend, Angie, wasn't brave enough to stand up for her and try to make it stop. But at least she tried after Lizzie died. 

We couldn't really get to know who Lizzie really was, based on her narration but it was great that the author revealed diary entries. I thought that was a good way of letting readers enter the mind of someone who obviously had a lot of pain to deal with. Lizzie's entries were like poetry; sorrowful and sweet moments that happened in her life. We also get to see, through subliminal writing just who her strong feelings were for, and who were the "monsters" in her dreams. One main one in particular was her dad, and I think the situation with him should have been handled way better, in terms of bringing it to light. 

There was also the element of surprise when I found out who really wrote the awful things after Lizzie's death. I didn't see that one coming so good job Chelsea, in keeping me interested. All in all, it was a good story, with the exception that some things seemed off and sometimes didn't make sense. Otherwise, I liked how emotional it was and the fact that the plot is based on an issue still going strong in society today. 

Review: Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Before I Fall

by Lauren Oliver

Released: March 2nd 2010

Publisher: HarperCollins

Purchase: Amazon

*I purchased the hardcover from Amazon.

Synopsis via Goodreads:

What if you had only one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?

Samantha Kingston has it all: the world's most crush-worthy boyfriend, three amazing best friends, and first pick of everything at Thomas Jefferson High--from the best table in the cafeteria to the choicest parking spot. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life.

Instead, it turns out to be her last.

Then she gets a second chance. Seven chances, in fact. Reliving her last day during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death--and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.

I have such a hard time writing this review because I can't seem to find the right words to put together to describe just how much Before I fall had me all messed up. Oh my gosh, what a wonderful, interesting, thought-provoking, realistic, and addictive story. Lauren, I send you tons of smooches. 

Can you believe I actually HATED Sam with a passion at start. She, along with her friend, Lindsay (and I say Lindsay because it seemed like she was the ringleader and Sam was the main assistant) spoke hurtful things, did hurtful things without considering the consequences of their action and I thought that Sam, more than anyone else should understand the emotional effect of being teased. It sucks that it took her several tries to finally get it right but Lauren gave us the true definition of what character development really is. I mean, at first I wanted to smack her so hard for wasting the opportunities to make a difference, to clean up her act and if possible get her friends to stop but she just kept doing it like a moron. Oddly, though, I couldn't stop reading because it wasn't like I hated Sam's character enough to dislike the story and give the book a DNF. I really liked the fact that she wasn't the average protagonist and she was actually experiencing growth like a normal person. Besides, it wasn't like she could do much to affect anyone around her aside from Juliet. The whole thing with Juliet was quite an eye opener. I was like "ohhhh" once I figured out what really caused the accident and all the twists and loose ends came in to play. 

The writing was superb. I got so emotional throughout until finally, I started liking Sam. In fact, by the end of the story I LOVED her. She knew what had to be done and she was determined to go through with it. Sam came to the realization that everything isn't always about her, that you have to put self aside and see the beauty in everything and everyone else. There was much more to be learned from the story, and so much I thought about while reading it. Lauren really struck a nerve with me. Once again, smooches. 

What else can I go on about? I loved the romance, the family aspect, the friendship level and all the bad and good in it. The neverending issue of bullying and its effects. Most of all, I loved how every single character had a purpose. No one was just thrown in or had me asking "why are you here?" They all made sense. What a terrific book. Sucks for me that I'm only now reading it when I love this author and her intriguing writing style. 

*Slapscheek* Okay, back to reality and more substantial statements. I enjoyed Before I fall. The writing was brilliant; the plot was fascinating. I experienced a feeling like no other, and its definitely a feeling that will haunt me forever. Wouldn't you want to experience something as impressive as this? Oh, that's right. You have already :)