Small Medium at Large by Joanne Levy -- YA Review

 Small Medium at Large by Joanne Levy -- YA Review

 

After she’s hit by lightning at a wedding, twelve-year-old Lilah Bloom develops a new talent: she can hear dead people. Among them, there’s her overopinionated Bubby Dora; a prissy fashion designer; and an approval-seeking clown who livens up a séance. With Bubby Dora leading the way, these and other sweetly imperfect ghosts haunt Lilah through seventh grade, and help her face her one big fear: talking to—and possibly going to the seventh-grade dance with—her crush, Andrew Finkel. Blurb via Goodreads

Details: Bloomsbury, Released July 3, 2012, Hardcover, 208 pages
Genre: YA
Source: Library
Links: Goodreads

Stars? 4/5

In one sentence? Lilah got struck by lightning and all she got were voices in her head.

Review:

A sweet, quick story about twelve year old Lilah who gets struck by lightning and suddenly hears dead people. Lilah has to navigate life as a twelve year old while dead people talk to her. This book has all the elements of the horrors of being a pre-teen, boys, bras, saying the exact wrong thing at the very worst time. Lilah is a likable character, she's sweet, generous, kind, the kind of girl you wanted to have as a friend. The story is punctuated with laugh out loud moments and embarrassing, cringe-worthy moments.

Taste by Kate Evangelista -- YA Review

Taste by Kate Evangelista -- YA Review

At Barinkoff Academy, there's only one rule: no students on campus after curfew. Phoenix McKay soon finds out why when she is left behind at sunset. A group calling themselves night students threaten to taste her flesh until she is saved by a mysterious, alluring boy. With his pale skin, dark eyes, and mesmerizing voice, Demitri is both irresistible and impenetrable. He warns her to stay away from his dangerous world of flesh eaters. Unfortunately, the gorgeous and playful Luka has other plans. When Phoenix is caught between her physical and her emotional attraction, she becomes the keeper of a deadly secret that will rock the foundations of an ancient civilization living beneath Barinkoff Academy. Phoenix doesn't realize until it is too late that the closer she gets to both Demitri and Luka the more she is plunging them all into a centuries old feud.

Details: Crescent Moon Press, Released April 30, 2012, Trade Paperback, 259 pages
Genre: YA
Source: Giveaway Win
Links: Goodreads

Stars? 5/5

In one sentence? A new and interesting take on the zombie genre.

Review:

One mistake can change everything. Phoenix isn't supposed to be at school after hours but when she falls asleep at school and wakes up amidst the night students. Students that want a 'taste'.

Phoenix is a likable character. She's brave but dumb. She's got the best of intentions but she ends up leaping without even attempting to look. She turns into the damsel in distress several times but there were reasons for it, it wasn't just an opportunity to have one of the boys rescue her. I wanted to knock her upside the head, to root for her, to sympathize with her and to give her a hug.

I adored the boys, Dimitri, the tall, dark, handsome, brooding, dutiful prince and Luka, the playful, kind, teasing, haunted prince. I thought they were both good matches for Phoenix and I appreciated the way Evanglista handled the love triangle, but not a love triangle, triangle. I'm not a big fan of triangles but this one was well done, both the guys were good to her and good for her.

I liked Evangelista's writing style. The story never seemed to lag and I thought she did a good job of portraying the world she created and describing the people in it. She made me care about the characters, I was emotionally invested in them and their journey. Evangelista is also excellent at crafting chemistry between her characters and conveying that to the reader.

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith -- YA Review

 The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith -- YA Review

Image Via Goodreads

Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?

Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. Having missed her flight, she's stuck at JFK airport and late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon-to-be stepmother Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's sitting in her row.

A long night on the plane passes in the blink of an eye, and Hadley and Oliver lose track of each other in the airport chaos upon arrival. Can fate intervene to bring them together once more? Blurb Via Goodreads

Details: Poppy/Little Brown, Released January 2, 2012, Hardcover, 236 pages
Genre: YA
Source: Library
Links: Goodreads

Stars? 5/5

In one sentence? Girl + guy + 24 hours = love?

Review:

A sweet and touching story that shows how everything can change in twenty-four hours. I adored this book. I adored Hadley. I adored Oliver. I adored everything about it.

It had a twist I didn't see coming. A twist that made me stop and think about everything that had come before in the context of that new knowledge. Smith doesn't wrap things up in a pretty bow at the end. I could appreciate that because life isn't like that, terrible things happen to us and we have to deal with them. 

I think the mark of a good book is that we keep thinking of it long after we've turned the last page. This book is one of those books. One particular line 'needed more time' kept repeating in my head. I felt like that too, I needed more time with this book, more time with Hadley and Oliver.

It's a relatively short book, only 236 pages, and it was a page turner. Smith's writing style was clear and crisp and the story was fascinating. If you see The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight definitely pick it up, you won't regret it.

Clear Your Shelf Giveaway Hop January 4 - 10, 2012

Clear Your Shelf Giveaway Hop January 4 - 10, 2012

Hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer

My prize:

A Victorian garden, a fishing lure, and a ghost named John

Absolutely nothing is going right for Max Green. His parents have just uprooted their family from Vancouver to the bleak suburbs of Toronto, he has no friends, and everybody at his new high school is ignoring him. To make matters worse, hes in love with an older girl whos completely out of his league.

When Max discovers a local library rumoured to be haunted by ghosts, hes immediately drawn to it. With the help of some cryptic messages, he begins to piece together the identity of the teenage ghost and the mysterious chain of events that have connected its spirit to the building for more than a century. But just who was John, anyway? Why has he chosen to contact Max? And what does an old fishing lure have to do with solving the mystery?

The fine print:
1 winner. US only. Must be 18 or have parental permission.
Winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.
For full details please read the terms and conditions. 
 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

ETA: There's been some trouble with the linky list go here for the latest links
Be sure to visit all the other stops...
 

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry -- YA Review

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry -- YA Review

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal. But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible. Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again. Blurb via Goodreads

Details: Harlequin Tee, Released July 31, 2012, Paperback, 293 Pages (I read an ARC)
Genre: YA
Source: giveaway
Link: Goodreads

Stars: 4/5

In one sentence: Two people who've seen the worst try to get the best out of each other.

Review:

We meet two teens who have both had horrible things happen to them and they're each dealing in the only way they know how. Echo is trying so hard to be the girl she was before whatever it was happened to her, happened to her. The mystery of what happened to her was well crafted and revealed just enough at a time to keep me interested. Noah gave up trying to be who he was before but he's still trying so desperately to do the right thing, to make things right in the only way he thinks he can. He's the bad boy with the soft and gooey center.

Noah and Echo come from two different worlds but are thrown together and decide to work together to get the answers they need. They're perfect romantic partners but the baggage they carry guarantees a bumpy ride. 

I thought McGarry did a good job of portraying their relationship, how brave they were to give each other a chance and to deal with the consequences of their choices. McGarry made me feel for them, care for them, while making me understand their choices and actions. I could think they made the wrong choice or did the wrong thing but McGarry made sure we understood, I never thought 'why the hell did they do that?'.

Control is a theme throughout the book, Echo and Noah struggle against the people who have control over them, Echo's father, their therapist, the foster care system, etc., it's a long list, and their struggles to assert themselves and control their own lives.

There isn't a happy ending in the traditional sense, but it has a satisfying ending, er beginning.
I enjoyed McGarry's writing style. The story is told in alternating perspectives, giving depth to the story and the characters.

The secondary characters were interesting and purposeful. They illuminate Echo and Noah and show how they interact with the world. I'm intrigued to read McGarry's next book, featuring Beth, and hopefully we'll get a peak at Noah and Echo again.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern -- YA Review

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern -- YA Review

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per­formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead. 

Details: Doubleday, September 13, 2011, Ebook, 387 pages
Genre: YA
Source: Library
Link: Goodreads

Rating: 3/5

In one sentence? A great concept but lackluster delivery.

Review: 

The concept was fascinating, dueling magicians who fall in love and I had high expectations, unfortunately the story fell short for me. Morgenstern crafts a beautiful world inside circus tents and fills it with fascinating people but that's about all it had going for it. The story moved slowly. I kept waiting for action, for the story to pick up and it never did though Morgenstern did kept the story interesting enough for me to keep turning the pages.

From the blurb it sounds like the romance between Celia and Marco the romance will be front and center but it was really a small part of the story. They were star crossed lovers, loving each other desperately but kept apart, which automatically gets me rooting for them. Morgenstern did a good job of getting the reader into Celia and Marco's heads, making me feel for them, playing a game they didn't choose to play, where they had no chance, no knowledge of the rules or the stakes. I wished Morgenstern had shown more of Celia and Marco, I think the story would have been richer for it.

I did not like Morgenstern's writing style, it annoyed and distracted me, taking me away from the world she was trying to create. And dialog. Give me some dialog please! I think that Morgenstern chose the wrong platform for her story; while reading I kept imagining how the story would play out on film. I think this might be one time where the movie would actually be better than the book.

Hex Hall (Hex Hall #1) by Rachel Hawkins -- YA Review

 Hex Hall (Hex Hall #1) by Rachel Hawkins -- YA Review

Image Via Goodreads

Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It's gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie's estranged father--an elusive European warlock--only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it's her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters.

By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire student on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect.

As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her. Blurb Via Goodreads

Details: Hyperion Book CH, Released March 2, 2010, Hardcover, 336 pages
Genre: YA
Source: Library
Links: Goodreads

Stars? 5/5

In one sentence? Well, two.  Teenage angst in a magical reform school? What's not to love?

Review:

I enjoyed Hex Hall immensely.  I liked the story, pacing, the twists and turns, the characters, and the plot. I appreciated that this was a book about Sophie and the her journey, and though her romance was an important part of her story, it wasn't all about her having a boyfriend. I liked and empathized with Sophie, her struggles to fit in at magical reform school, her mistakes, how she forged friendships and relationships, finding out who she is and deciding who she wants to be.

I liked Hawkins' writing style, her voice and I'm looking forward to reading her next book.