[Guest Post] Made You Up by Francesca Zappia

Title: Made You Up

Author: Francesca Zappia [Twitter | Website]

Publisher: Greenwillow, an imprint of HarperCollins

Genre: Young Adult Fiction - Contemporary, Realistic Fiction, Social Issues 

Release Date: May 19, 2015

Source: ARC provided by the publisher, opinions are honest and the reader's own. – review policy here.

omg I LOVED THIS BOOK! I loved the writing style, the wacky school, Alex's humor and sincerity and MILES! I freaking LOVED Miles! And their whole little group. It was such a colorful cast of characters.

This is a story about a girl named Alex who has paranoid schizophrenia. She often hallucinates and takes photos with her digital camera to help her understand what's real and fake. The story starts off with her as a child trying to free the lobsters in the lobster tank at the grocery store. She meets a boy who has the bluest eyes she's ever seen... and later learns that the whole thing was a delusion.

Years later she's in her senior year of high school. Getting her last chance. She didn't do so well in her last school (due to paranoia about communists and a spray paint incident) and you get the feeling that if she doesn't prove herself this time around something bad is going to happen.

Alex is quirky and not just because of her schizophrenia. She's just a wacky girl with a good sense of humor. I loved her voice and I loved being inside of her head. So often people are scared of schizophrenics and this really helped me to understand what it might be like for people who suffer from schizophrenia. I felt for Alex and she broke my heart more than once. Towards the end of the book we learn a very sad truth that is devastating for Alex and my heart just broke.

Mile's is an incredibly interesting character. He's a genius, he's a jerk, he's king of the school. He does 'jobs' for people who pay him money to get revenge, get them out of tests, and other odd ball things. He does this because it gives him power. Without that he's just a nerd from a bad home who gets bullied. And he faces off with Alex, pulling pranks on her, and her pulling them back on him. They slowly form a bond thought and he later figures out that she's schizophrenic. But he's very good about it, and takes care of her. There are some of THE sweetest moments between the two of them. And I just loved him. And I also loved how she took care of him when he needed help.

The school they go to is almost it's own character. There's a lot of weird stuff going on and I just loved how it added to the story as an almost living background.

Pick this book up guys. It's brilliant and amazing!

5 Stars from Molly at

[Review} Little Peach by Peggy Kern

Title: Little Peach

Author: Peggy Kern [Twitter]

Publisher: Balzer & Bray/HarperTeen, an imprint of HarperCollins

Genre: Young Adult Fiction - Contemporary, Social Issues

Release Date: March 10, 2015

Source: ARC provided by the publisher. Opinions are honest and my own. – review policy here.

Little Peach explores a really interesting subject. Not because it's new but because it's often referred to in a historical or foreign context... sex trade. Little Peach is a young girl who is in the hospital recounting how she got to this point. 

Kern's writing is griping and comes with a quick pace which develops into a solid read with a smaller page count. The only tip-offs to Kern's privilege come through a couple of authenticity slip ups but the revelations she brings to the forefront more than make up for this. 

Little Peach and her companions bring to life the underground world of modern-day sex trade through the unveiling of gang and pimp culture in the pursuit of the American dream. Kern's ability to narrate the girls and their handlers in such a way that the public would never suspect they are kept under control, etc. furthers the realism and disbelief.

This is an extremely short read but each page is more and more revealing. You keep turning in an attempt to understand how this happened to Little Peach and the other young women, to see how easy it is to fall down the rabbit hole, and to keep from being completely horrified all at the same time. 

Recommended for readers who enjoy crime procedurals such as Criminal Mind and Law & Order: SVU. There are several triggers in this novel that may not be comfortable for some readers including drugs, sex, and violence.

4 Stars – Gritty tale that brings a fresh light to a real American problem.

[Review] Twisted Fate by Norah Olson

Title: Twisted Fate

Author: Norah Olson

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollins

Genre: Young Adult Fiction - Thriller, Mystery, Contemporary, Social Issues

Release Date: January 20, 2015

Source: eARC provided by the publisher, opinions are honest and my own. – review policy here.

Whoa... who am I supposed to trust?

Immediately we're introduced to Sydney, Allyson and a few other point of views. Right off the bat you know something is off as the sisters recount events with different versions. But who's telling the truth? Who's version is accurate? It's all really weird but I was totally roped in and the pages kept turning.

Honestly, everyone is kind of creepy just to varying degrees
One thing I think Olson nails is the fact that we're all flawed. While some may find the multiple POVs a bit much it is needed to show all sides of the story, reveal "evidence", and bring clarity as to what/who we're dealing with here. There's only two people I trusted in the whole story and that's the police officers.

Because there's always boys...
The story kicks off with gorgeous Graham moving in next door and taking a liking to Allyson. Sydney, her younger sister, is immediately skeptical of him and along with Becky, the BFF, and Declan, her sort-of-boyfriend, they begin befriending him and spying...

The writing is on the wall from pretty early in the story but I was still unsure how things were going to shake out. The ending did not disappoint but did leave one big question for me.

Spoiler

One of the main issues is that Sydney is mentally ill. This is NEVER addressed and for all these kids to be super smart (Declan and Syd are top of the class and Becky is a hacker/computer programming nerd) NO ONE notices this!!!!! I kind of get absent parents but she hangs with these people everyday and reveals her sickness but everyone just shrugs it off. Even the school guidance counselor.

If this question/issue/point been addressed then it would've been a five star read for me.

You'll like is if... and it may annoy you if...

You'll like this if you enjoy psychological thrillers without questioning too much. The only character development is revealed/forced by the plot so you may not find yourself deeply attached to any one person but it's not boring. I promise! Also, if you're looking for a lot of explanations as to why... prepare to lose sleep. The ending is with little explanation after the last conflict.

If you enjoyed Gone Girl, or enjoy the TV shows Snapped or Forensic Files this should please you. 

Random side note: I could find nothing on the author except that she wrote this book. This totally adds to the creepiness factor, even if it's just a pseudonym. ;)

4 Stars – I don't know who to be more afraid of...

[Review] I Was Here by Gayle Forman

Title: I Was Here

Author: Gayle Forman [Website | Twitter | Tumblr]

Publisher: Viking Juvenile, an imprint of Penguin Books

Genre: Young Adult Fiction - Contemporary, Social Issues

Release Date: January 27, 2015

Source: ARC provided by the publisher, opinions are honest and my own. – review policy here.

Cody and Meg were inseparable.
Two peas in a pod.
Until . . . they weren’t anymore.

When her best friend Meg drinks a bottle of industrial-strength cleaner alone in a motel room, Cody is understandably shocked and devastated. She and Meg shared everything—so how was there no warning? But when Cody travels to Meg’s college town to pack up the belongings left behind, she discovers that there’s a lot that Meg never told her. About her old roommates, the sort of people Cody never would have met in her dead-end small town in Washington. About Ben McAllister, the boy with a guitar and a sneer, who broke Meg’s heart. And about an encrypted computer file that Cody can’t open—until she does, and suddenly everything Cody thought she knew about her best friend’s death gets thrown into question.

I Was Here is Gayle Forman at her finest, a taut, emotional, and ultimately redemptive story about redefining the meaning of family and finding a way to move forward even in the face of unspeakable loss. – via Goodreads

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Gayle hurt my feels...

The synopsis give the big feel hurter away and the book's first page dives right into Meg's passing. However, it's Cody's journey in the last few chapters that totally did me in. I don't even think it was intended to be an ugly-cry-in-public moment but the beauty of the writing, combined with the character development and topped off with revelations need the comfort of my road trip sobs.

I thought this was going one way but it ended up being simpler and more complicated than that...

Cody's investigation leads to an encrypted computer file which starts to paint a picture of how Meg ended up where she did. At this point I was like "ah, ha" and everything clicked and I was like "plot solved, let's do this". Like Cody, I too was wrong and Gayle's writing folded me back into the story and I let her take the wheel.

Love is love

Really if you want to know why you should read this it's love. Parental love, friend love, humankind love, romantic love... all types of love. It tests the idea of family and who should love us versus who does love us. It challenges how strong and weak love really is. Figuratively, breaking the ultimate Beatles' promise.

Cody's character development is on a self-actualization scale here. Breaking apart her Matrix style world to discover that perceptions are not realities. While I'm not crazy about her name I have no doubt that she she'll be okay and she'd make one hell of a BFF. The secondary characters of Ben, her mom, and Meg's family each add in their own unique dynamic to teeter totter with Cody's narrative. Their growth as characters is in direct reflection to Cody's growth and off with the rose colored glasses.

This got real... really real. Like personal and spooky real.

I can't go into anything here without spoiling major plot points but the result definitely made me reflect on my friendships, things that I know (and don't know) about them, my unwavering love for my friends/family, and then accepting that they come as they are. And that is the hardest part about love.

5 Stars – Gayle at her finest. Hauntingly sad and yet a redeeming story about our persons.

[Waiting...] My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine,

that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This Week's Pick: 

Title: My Heart and Other Black Holes

Author: Jasmine Warga

[ Twitter | Tumblr | Website]

Release Date: February 10, 2015

Publisher: Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins

Genre: Young Adult Fiction – Contemporary, Social Issues, Romance

Summary via Goodreads:

Sixteen-year-old physics nerd Aysel is obsessed with plotting her own death. With a mother who can barely look at her without wincing, classmates who whisper behind her back, and a father whose violent crime rocked her small town, Aysel is ready to turn her potential energy into nothingness.

There’s only one problem: she’s not sure she has the courage to do it alone. But once she discovers a website with a section called Suicide Partners, Aysel’s convinced she’s found her solution: a teen boy with the username FrozenRobot (aka Roman) who’s haunted by a family tragedy is looking for a partner.

Even though Aysel and Roman have nothing in common, they slowly start to fill in each other’s broken lives. But as their suicide pact becomes more concrete, Aysel begins to question whether she really wants to go through with it. Ultimately, she must choose between wanting to die or trying to convince Roman to live so they can discover the potential of their energy together. Except that Roman may not be so easy to convince.

Why I'm Waiting...

I'm a glutton for punishment and crying...

Because it's winter and winter is for feels. Sad feels that become hopeful feels... maybe? 

Here's to hoping Roman isn't an island...

[Review] Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer

Title: Belzhar
Author: Meg Wolitzer [ Facebook | Twitter | Website]

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile, an imprint of Penguin

Genre: Young Adult Fiction - Contemporary, Social Issues, Magical Realism

Release Date: September 30, 2014

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher, opinions are honest and my own. – review policy here.

If life were fair, Jam Gallahue would still be at home in New Jersey with her sweet British boyfriend, Reeve Maxfield. She’d be watching old comedy sketches with him. She’d be kissing him in the library stacks.

She certainly wouldn’t be at The Wooden Barn, a therapeutic boarding school in rural Vermont, living with a weird roommate, and signed up for an exclusive, mysterious class called Special Topics in English.

But life isn’t fair, and Reeve Maxfield is dead.

Until a journal-writing assignment leads Jam to Belzhar, where the untainted past is restored, and Jam can feel Reeve’s arms around her once again. But there are hidden truths on Jam’s path to reclaim her loss. - via Goodreads

---

Strength in characters...

While the story is told from Jam's point of view, I found the rest of the cast more interesting. The strong secondary lineup allows readers to explore why everyone is at the school and what Belzhar means to them. Sierra could easily carry an entire novel on her own. Most importantly for me we learn that everybody's pain is just that, it's theirs. There's no more or less since we all carry our pain individually.

"Is there no way out of the mind?"...

On that topic, I found it very easy to be judge-y while meeting all the characters and their backstories. In the end Meg Wolitzer's words transported me into each character's world to build walls of sympathy and understanding, and hope that they find a way out. I was rooting for everyone in the end as if I actually knew them.

Sylvia Path's Bell Jar is a major inspiration for the novel and the themes in the story. Knowing more about her brings you that much closer to the Special Topics in English class.   

The catch took too long...

The last backstory to come to light is Jam's and for me it was too little, too late. I really feel that if the reveal would have been earlier there would've been more to explore in her healing. Instead my attachment to all her classmates was cemented and she became a conduit to tell their stories instead. Can I get a whole Sierra Belzhar????

I recommend this for...

Obviously, a big theme was Sylvia Plath so if you're her fan then this read will be appreciated. Also if you enjoy boarding schools tropes and or secret clubs, i.e. Dead Poets Society, you will probably enjoy Belzhar. 

3.5 Stars - Everybody hurts sometimes...

[Audio Review] Life By Committee by Corey Ann Haydu

Buy from the Book Depository

Title: Life By Committee

Author: Corey Ann Haydu [ Facebook | Twitter | Website ]

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollins

Genre: Young Adult Fiction - Contemporary Realistic Fiction

Release Date: May 13, 2014

Source: Library copy via Overdrive, opinions are honest and my own. – review policy here.

Some secrets are too good to keep.

Tabitha might be the only girl in the history of the world who actually gets less popular when she gets hot. But her so-called friends say she’s changed, and they’ve dropped her flat.

Now Tab has no one to tell about the best and worst thing that has ever happened to her: Joe, who spills his most intimate secrets to her in their nightly online chats. Joe, whose touch is so electric, it makes Tab wonder if she could survive an actual kiss. Joe, who has Tabitha brimming with the restless energy of falling in love. Joe, who is someone else’s boyfriend.

Just when Tab is afraid she’ll burst from keeping the secret of Joe inside, she finds Life by Committee. The rules of LBC are simple: tell a secret, receive an assignment. Complete the assignment to keep your secret safe.

Tab likes it that the assignments push her to her limits, empowering her to live boldly and go further than she’d ever go on her own.

But in the name of truth and bravery, how far is too far to go? - via Goodreads

---

Life by Committee introduces some very relevant concepts today involving the power of rumors, bullying, and virtual relationship building. This intertwined with the traditional YA concepts of growing up and discovering oneself produces an emotionally charged story that can be summed up as "you don't know me." 

The voice actress gives Tabitha an authentic sound to wade through the pains of "slut shaming" exhibited through the eyes of adults and peers alike, including her own parents. This is the strength in Haydu's writing. Tabitha's pain and confusion surrounding something she has no control over is central to the story and the writing's cultural relevance. Her bodily changes take on a persona of their own, for better or worse, reminiscent of your own teenage awkwardness. 

The foundation of the various arcs surround the idea that nothing is really what it seems. Tabitha is juggling several compelling issues that could have made for great writing points on their own. Instead the reader is left behind with unfinished issues raining down in the last pages. 

Why I won't read it again, but recommend it for...

I liked it but there were definitely things that were more tolerable than others. Tabitha has several relationships that she's working on throughout the novel. While her school stuff sort of gets sorted out in the end, a la Mean Girls style, her relationship with her parents is left without a solid conclusion. While I think peer resolution is important I think we can all admit it's our parents who shape us for better or worse and I was left wanting more in this case. It's kind of a big deal for me... 

The online forum, Life by Committee, presents a unique scenario diving into online based relationships founded in mutual trust, anonymity, and exploring the concept of blending virtual reality as physical reality. I really wanted this concept to be flushed out a bit more versus being used as a catalyst for driving the plot. 

Call me mushy, call me a girl but I wanted more legit swoons. I needed those specific swoons!!!!! I like him. :)

I won't be reading this again, while it was deep and tackled important topics I just didn't connect with the MC and the ending left me feeling incomplete. I recommend this read for teens who are exploring web-based friendships for the first time, or enjoy reads about social and relationship issues.  

3 Stars

[Waiting on Wednesday] Don't Touch by Rachel M. Wilson

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine,

that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This Week's Pick: 

Pre-Order at The Book Depository

Title: Don't Touch

Author: Rachel M. Wilson
[Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Tumblr | Website]
Release Date: September 2, 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen
Genre: Young Adult- Contemporary Romance, Social Issues

*There's a Goodreads giveaway through 8/19/14*

Summary via Goodreads:

Step on a crack, break your mother's back,
Touch another person's skin, and Dad's gone for good . . .

Caddie has a history of magical thinking—of playing games in her head to cope with her surroundings—but it's never been this bad before.

When her parents split up, don't touch becomes Caddie's mantra. Maybe if she keeps from touching another person's skin, Dad will come home. She knows it doesn't make sense, but her games have never been logical. Soon, despite Alabama's humidity, she's covering every inch of her skin and wearing evening gloves to school.

And that's where things get tricky. Even though Caddie's the new girl, it's hard to pass off her compulsions as artistic quirks. Friends notice things. Her drama class is all about interacting with her scene partners, especially Peter, who's auditioning for the role of Hamlet. Caddie desperately wants to play Ophelia, but if she does, she'll have to touch Peter . . . and kiss him. Part of Caddie would love nothing more than to kiss Peter—but the other part isn't sure she's brave enough to let herself fall.

Why I'm Waiting...

Well this is a new topic... and so real! Mental health and social issues are often overlooked until tragedy strikes. I'm really excited to see Caddie's issues explored and I'm anxious to see in what capacities. As someone with Impulse Control Disorder (ICD) I can understand on a small level how similar issues can effect your everyday life from work, social, etc. It's can be hard!

I'm ready for a heroine who has flaws, deep seated flaws that she'll have to cope with and *fingers crossed* have a hopeful ending. I also am really digging the Shakespeare parallel and I'm curious to see how some of the themes from Hamlet may carry over.

I don't expect it to be fun and flirty but I'm hoping for some education combined with character development and a story of survival in the end.

What do you think about the topic?
Have you read similar novels?

[Review] The Things We Kiss Goodbye by Leslie Connor

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Title: The Things You Kiss Goodbye

Author: Leslie Conner [ Facebook | Twitter | Website]

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollins

Genre: Young Adult Fiction - Contemporary, Social Issues, Romance

Release Date: June 24, 2014

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher, opinions are honest and my own. – review policy here.

Do not read the synopsis, it has spoilers! Kind of...

Bettina is a 16 year-old high school girl who's best friend moves away and quickly falls for a basketball player at school. With strict parents Bettina is not allowed out of the house often, but over time her freedom comes in the form of Brady, her boyfriend, cheerleading, and art class. She's then spending several nights a week out, not including those she sneaks out as well. But, just when everything seems to be going well the kinks in the armor of life start to show and she finds an emotional escape in the form of a twenty something shop owner, "Cowboy."  

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I'm filled with feels but let me start with the thing that "erk"ed me the most. Abuse is a reoccurring theme in this story coming in different forms and effecting many of the characters. While there is some level of the abused standing up for themselves there is never really a resolution or sense of empowerment. I want the comfort of knowing the perpetrator's would experience behavior change and there would be no future victims, but alas it is not meant to be. I suppose this is real life though, that maybe everything isn't tied up with justice but I was left waning more. 

Second thing that was a major conflicting "erk" for me is the relationship between teenage Bettina and 20-something "Cowboy." Don't get me wrong, this man is swoon worthy! From his work ethic to his mysterious past, his willingness to listen, and almost everything about him is awesome. I could not move past their age difference, I just couldn't. I wanted to, I tried...real hard, but nope.

  

This was so hard too because Cowboy is easily my favorite character besides Bettina's friend Tony (instantly friend-zoned but so sweet). I wanted Cowboy to save her and take her away from all evil but my judgey eyes were ever present. 

Bettina is a smart, creative and very artsy girl. This fueled her passion for life and drew the ire of several people in her life. I adored her tenacity for combat boots and steampunk, but most of all I loved watching her grow. She isn't perfect but in the end she's all she can be at that moment.

It's Bettina's relationships with her mom and elderly friend Regina that ultimately convince me this is a love story. It is her bond with these women and their mutual/generational growing pains that left me with wetting eyes and hope. The strong character development and growth MADE this read. It may have also saved it from turning into a Lifetime movie.   

The plot moves fairly quickly covering a year and a half's worth of time beginning in the spring semester of Bettina's sophomore year and ending at the fall of her senior year. Her courtship with Brady is quick and to the point since the story lies in their being together not getting together. The opposite is true for the development of her friendship/relationship with Cowboy. The plot shaker comes in around 2/3 of the book and hits like whiplash. Leaving a lot of ends to tie up for a hearty conclusion. I was very nervous about how the plot would twist but it do so in the only way it could. It hurt, there's tears, revelations, growth and in the end a better Bettina which is totally worth cheering for. 

This wasn't the summer read the cover might inspire, but it holds its own in a sea of teen issue novels. 

Fav Quotes

Fili antio. Kiss it goodbye.

"I learned if you don't acknowledge pain,
you're not really safe."

- quote is subject to change in final copy

3 Stars – A big issue wasn't really resolved, the climax hit me in the face like a ton of bricks and in the end there were tears. Darker than you would think but an solid read all around. 

Bonus: I'm pretty sure this book has inspired a new tattoo.