Saving June by Hannah Harrington

Publication: November 22nd 2011 by Harlequin
336 pages
Source: ARC via Flamingnet Teen Book Reviews

I feel really tired.

But it’s a good kind of tired. Like after you run a marathon. Or after you finally finish taking all your finals. You’re exhausted but content and your heart is just a teensy bit heavy.

Saving June details Harper’s life after her older sister June commits suicide. Unable to bear it all anymore -- the hurt, her mother’s tears, the unfamiliar pats on the back by random strangers -- Harper escapes to California with her best friend Laney, her sister’s apparent acquaintance Jake, and June’s urn. California was June’s dream, and fulfilling it for her seems like the only way Harper can come to terms with what happened. But a place is just a place. Mostly. And the journey there is only a road trip. Sort of.

Man, I cannot stop myself from pausing every once in a while, picking up Saving June again, and re-reading some of the standout passages. I’ll probably be willing to shout the title of this book from the rooftops, and it’s coming out in paperback. Seriously? Saving June deserves a hardcover edition and a few weeks in a comfy spot on the NYT Best Sellers List.

Why all the enthusiasm? Our protagonist Harper has backbone and doesn’t take crap from anyone. Puke on her, and she’ll puke on you. Jake is a sweetheart with a music obsession and a spiny exterior. Laney is fun and flirty and fiery and I’m running out of adjectives that start with “f” to describe her. This is what all fictional characters should strive to become. They should have a life and a heart and a soul and a personality. Physical attraction isn’t a bad trait, either.

Really, this book was about healing and maturity and dealing with death. I feel like reading it has made me a different person (that’s what all great novels should do, in my opinion). But it also made me chuckle and sigh. And this weight on my chest just won’t disappear.

I recommend Saving June to anyone looking for truly beautiful YA contemporary fiction. I was actually going to host a giveaway for my ARC but changed my mind after finishing the book. I love it too much; I’m not giving it away.

Rating: 5

incomprehensibly awesome

Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard

Expected publication: March 13th 2012 by Delacorte Books
352 pages
Source: ARC from Random House via NetGalley

This novel should come with a free one-way ticket to Guatemala, a ragged backpack, and a male companion who just so happens to be a cute diving instructor afflicted with Wanderlove.

Umm hmm, where can I get me some o’ that?

Although in all seriousness, Wanderlove is a perfect story for your typical escapist. Those familiar with Central American geography will recognize the countries Bria (what a lovely name) and Rowan (what a lovely boy -- Do I sound pedophilic? He’s older than me, OK?) trek through on their eventful two week journey. The descriptions make me want to jump into my (nonexistent) car and drive down south. One particularly striking scene is the Río Dulce, or sweet river, which apparently resembles the white flower-filled sea in Lewis’s The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Visiting that river is now on my bucket list.

Our two main characters -- Bria and Rowan -- are beyond endearing. Both are trying to run away from their pasts, and their chemistry is undeniable. We are spared any sort of desperate pining from either of them, which is a relief, since no one enjoys pining characters anyway. The two argue, they exchange stories, they list taboo subjects, and they have a fair share of comfortable silences. The girl with the lovely name and the lovely boy with the ponytail make a lovely couple.

To add on to that all that loveliness are the drawings included in the book. Since Bria is an aspiring artist, Ms. Hubbard supplied some of her own sketches to supplement the novel; the pictures are gorgeous. She could probably draw her own Wanderlove graphic novel if she wants.

Anyway, I’ve obtained a copy of Ms. Hubbard’s debut novel Like Mandarin and can’t wait to read something by this author again.

Rating: 4

delightfully scrumptious

Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley

Expected publication: February 14th 2012 by Knopf Books
224 pages
Source: ARC from Random House via NetGalley

This is what I hoped Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist could have been.
This is the type of contemporary YA that I wouldn’t mind reading every day. Kind of like how the Asian-ness in me wouldn’t mind eating rice for every single meal until old age renders me toothless and unable to chew. (Hopefully that sad, sad day will never come.)

Now, I don’t think an extended and super girly squeal would qualify as a review, so let me attempt to explain with the wonderful English language why I adored Graffiti Moon.

1) I actually like all the characters, even the secondary ones. Each of them had their own little moment in the spotlight, and you can’t help wanting to pinch their little cheeks and coo endearments at them. This might not have been appreciated, as all the characters were either high school seniors or older. But psh, details, details.

2) Lucy and Ed get to know each other inside out -- not physically inside out; get your mind out of the gutter -- before attraction appears. This concept is so obscure in YA nowadays that I feel like giving medals to every author that takes the time to develop relationships.

3) The graffiti described in here makes me want to fly to Australia and go on some sort of wild graffiti tour through the streets. Maybe I just live in a different sort of neighborhood, but I’ve only seen about two pieces of graffiti in my entire town, and they were simply uninspiring words drawn out in gigantic bubble letters. I would love to see painted, sleeping birds and lonely boys standing with blankness in their faces on random walls as I walk around.

Doesn’t Graffiti Moon just sound like a gorgeous read? Well, the reason the novel received 5 stars is mostly because:

4) I want this to happen to me, too. (Hmph, laugh all you want… I give you permission.)

I’ve already picked up a copy of Ms. Crowley’s A Little Wanting Song and am excited to read another one of her lovely novels.

Rating: 5

incomprehensibly awesome

The Beginning of After by Jennifer Castle

Expected publication: September 6th 2011 by HarperTeen
432 pages
Source: ARC from HarperCollins via NetGalley

Nothing. Happened.

Yes, you read it right: nothing happened in the entire 400+ novel. Oh, mundane events occurred, all right. Laurel went to school. She went to her therapist. She cried on her bed. She got a job at the animal shelter. But nothing of significance appeared on the horizon. The novel was a gigantic blob of nothingness. I don’t know about you, but when I pick up a piece of fiction, I expect to be dazzled or touched or experience some sort of change in the way I view the world. If I really wanted to bore myself with blobs of nothingness, I would pick up my Physics textbook instead.

I do realize that 1-star ratings are quite harsh since an entire team of people dedicated time and money on this piece of writing, only to have it hated on by a reviewer they kindly provided an ARC to. But hey, we have standards, and any book I think was a waste of time to read receives only 1 star.

OK, since Laurel’s parents and brother pass away in a car accident near the beginning, you would expect the novel to be about healing and dealing with grief. But no, Laurel basically mopes around for a while and then dives into an entire vat of boy drama. Would you be worrying about boys when your entire family has just passed away? Sending flirty emails to your next-door neighbor, whose mother also died in the same car accident? No. No, you wouldn’t.

While the characters themselves don’t get on my nerves, their interactions are quite infuriating, with Laurel and David being the prime example here. It is understandable that both would be unstable after the deaths of their families and that seeking solace with someone who knows what you’re going through helps with the pain. But the romance between these two; I mean, really. Laurel obviously pines after David for a good part of the novel, and David isn’t even around half the time. But then one day, the author decided to wave her magic wand and poof, they’re a happy couple. Not every single YA novel needs romance, you know?

I understand how others might have been moved by The Beginning of After, but this novel was not for me.

Rating: 1

I want to stab something

The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney

Published November 2nd 2010 by Little, Brown Books
332 pages
Series: The Mockingbirds #1
Source: Borrowed

Everything, everything is blurry to Alex. The events of the night before has become nothing but a huge pounding headache and random flashes of disjointed memories. She remembers talking to Martin, then to Carter. Then there is Carter's room, and the entire scene blanks out...

As rumors of that night spreads thoughout the prestigious Themis Academy -- fueled and distorted by Carter himself -- Alex is determined to get her old life back as the quiet piano genius. She enlists the help of the Mockingbirds: a student-run organization that acts as the enforcer of unspoken rules in a school where the administrators turn a blind eye on student issues, afraid that publicity of the flaws in their system would damage the school's reputation. Remember, don't underestimate the Mockingbirds. They have their ways. So Carter dear, you'd better watch out.

Daisy Whitney's novel explores the consequences of date rape in a high school that appears pristine on the surface. I found the author's integration of concepts from Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird to be fresh, new, and incredibly sneaky. Almost all of the Mockingbird's procedures and symbols are analogous to various elements of TKAM, like Boo's gifts to the Finch children or details of Tom Robinson's court trial.

Onto the musical aspect: mentions of Beethoven and Lizst and the like. These presented another facet of the novel that seemed to be irrelevant, but ultimately was not. Even Beethoven's famous Ninth Symphony can be symbolic to a story like this.

There was one part that made me laugh hysterically for a while. Then again, it might have just been due to the fact that I was reading at a time that should be reserved for sleep... Alex and Martin, an apparently cute science nerd (where can I find one of these, huh?), were discussing their ideas for the spring project. This assignment is similar to a senior paper, although these two aren't seniors, and it's not a paper. Anyways, Martin decides to do his project on barn owls, and when asked why, he replies:
"I was driving this summer and I drove past this injured owl on the side of the road. I was about to call the Humane Society, but then he just died, so I took him home and I dissected him."

The Mockingbirds is a unique contemporary novel that turned out to be more than I expected. I did not realize there was going to be a sequel, which definitely piques my interest.

Tidbit of random: I wish my school was cool enough to have the Mockingbirds' system.

Rating: 4

delightfully scrumptious

The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta

Published March 8th 2011 by Candlewick Press
336 pages
Source: Review Copy via Flamingnet Teen Book Reviews

Two broken people, destroyed by circumstance and the irreversible passage of time.

There is Tom -- the uni drop-out who spends his time pining for the girl whose heart he broke so many winters ago. Drowning in regret, he finds solace in escape, just as his alcoholic father blots out the world when life becomes too much to handle. And then there is Tom’s Aunt Georgie, confused and yearning for understanding after that one little event that fractured her life, even though the one person who can mend her is the one who broke her in the first place.

This is the story of the rediscovery of hope, as bits and pieces of Tom and Georgie’s lives continue to chip off and crumble in front of their weary eyes. This is where the healing begins.

I would never have given this book a second glance if shown its American cover: A boy guitarist in a striped shirt? Come on… How much more unoriginal can you get? However, I’ve had the luck to read a few of the brilliant Melina Marchetta’s works before and have thoroughly enjoyed every single one. To say that I was excited to start The Piper’s Son would be the understatement of the century.

Who would have thought that Marchetta could take something that resembled a cheesy Asian drama in character and plot and portray it as something so raw and real? You have your heart-broken protagonist with the messed-up family and the unrequited love and an adult counterpart with a marriage ripped apart by an affair. As usual, angst is always present, snaking its way through the story and leaving slimy trails of betrayal in its wake. It takes talent to write cliché into something of beauty and sadness and growth and forgiveness. Even though this book is as far from the fantasy genre as you can get, The Piper’s Son was magical. Yes, realistic novels can be magical, too.

And despite the almost depressing feel of the synopsis, there is also an abundance of humor -- puns, sarcasm, and witty remarks about random things such as a certain grandfather’s bum in super short jogging shorts and the mortification that accompanies said shorts during morning jogs around the neighborhood.

A sort-of sequel of Saving Francesca but with a side character as the main one instead, The Piper’s Son is one of those rare books that deserves a re-read. Even the second time will be as engrossing as the first.

Rating: 5

incomprehensibly awesome

Shine by Lauren Myracle

Published May 1st 2011 by Amulet Books
350 pages
Source: ARC from Abrams Books via NetGalley

An article recently came out in the Wall Street Journal that generated quite a buzz in the young adult book community. It basically slanders every YA novel out there that is “dark” by their standards and indirectly blames the books for familiarizing and possibly prompting trauma, violence, and profanity within the average teen. Shine received an honorary place in the article and was complained about quite a bit. So, dear Ms. Gurdon, author of said article, I am a teenager. I have read Shine, among tons of other “dark” novels. Do I now feel the inclination to begin stimulating the nearest meth business or sexually assaulting my classmates? No. No, I don’t. Not at all.

Since I’ve read Ms. Myracle’s Internet Girls series prior to Shine, I simply dismissed her as a frivolous author. Well, all my expectations disappeared down the drain as I read the first page, which featured a newspaper clipping detailing the attack of a gay teen in the tiny town of Black Creek. The novel goes on to describe the protagonist’s search for the truth about what really happened to the teen, an old childhood friend named Patrick.

Ms. Myracle’s writing created a sort of thick and somber atmosphere throughout the book, which was appropriate given the gravity of the topic. Her characters are easy to sympathize for, and the mystery involved was not overly obvious or completely impossible to solve. A multitude of touchy subjects were tackled and handled delicately. Overall, I enjoyed Shine a lot more than I’d originally thought I would.

Even with all the hate and despair in the story, I finished the novel with a feeling of hope. Yes, WSJ article, maybe it wasn’t a happily ever after, maybe the characters experienced things no one should go through. But there is hope and healing everywhere if you look hard enough.

Rating: 4

delightfully scrumptious

Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Published April 5th 2011 by Dutton Juvenile
264 pages
Series: If I Stay #2
Source: ARC from Penguin Young Readers Group via NetGalley

It’s possible that I harbor a sort of morbid curiosity toward angst of any kind, given the surprising amount of love I felt for this novel. Because I am not kidding when I say that the entire book is one humongous angst-fest. There’s Adam’s heartache and Mia’s barely hidden heartache and just pain and this awful sense of detachment from every other person around them.

And I loved every single page of it.

If Adam had been a stereotypical male from the YA genre, we would doubtlessly have been treated to paragraph upon paragraph of whining and pining after Mia. Oh, I miss the way her hair smells, the feel of her skin on mine, her beautiful lips like bright red cherries blah blah blah… But Adam is stronger and just plain better than that, even if he himself doesn’t think so. Yes, he wrote emo songs to vent his frustration at Mia’s departure. Yes, he was basically kind of catatonic for a year afterward. But he did something about his pain. He made it a sort of productive pain, if that makes any sense. Adam did not sit around and stare into space; he became a national rock sensation instead.

I confess, I had originally put off reading Where She Went because If I Stay wasn’t phenomenal for me. Perhaps I was put off by the feeling of stasis -- the total lack of overall change -- that pervades the first novel. Well, Where She Went manages to retain the emotional rollercoaster from If I Stay and adds a lot more movement and development to the characters since Mia is, you know, no longer in a coma.

Sigh... An author’s ability to turn something simple into something so engaging and extraordinary: this is why I read.

Rating: 4.5

between delightfully scrumptious and incomprehensibly awesome

Jenna & Jonah's Fauxmance by Emily Franklin & Brendan Halpin

Published February 1st 2011 by Walker Books
240 pages
Source: Review Copy via TeensReadToo

Charlie hates Fielding, and vice versa. What do you even expect? The two have been practically glued at the hip against their will for the last four years as promotion for their popular hit tween TV show Jenna & Jonah’s How to Be a Rock Star. It isn’t until the paparazzi pick up on a vicious rumor about the pair that they are forced to escape to an obscure beach house to ride out the publicity wave. Among the blessed quietness that accompanies obscurity, Charlie and Fielding proceed to discover something surprising: they really don’t know each other at all.

Jenna & Jonah’s Fauxmance is the type of novel that would correspond to some sort of crème-filled chocolate doughnut in the delightful world of food. It is definitely sweet, but eating too much of it will induce episodes of barfing. While I enjoy this type of bubbly and extremely non-surprising teeny bopper lit, they must be enjoyed in moderation. I mean, just look at the book’s cover. So very pink. Even the book jacket itself resembles some sort of doughnut.

The novel has its fair share of aww moments and some other facepalm ones. Unlike other bubbly novels, the two characters weren’t annoying most of the time, which made reading through this quite a breeze. Charlie and Fielding are quite dense about each other, though. And sometimes you just can’t help yourself from wanting to smack the two atop the head with something heavy, maybe an anvil of some sort.

Jenna & Jonah’s Fauxmance is a great pick for people who find delight in light, fluffy teen lit.

Rating: 3

fairly intriguing

The Lipstick Laws by Amy Holder

Published April 4th 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
240 pages
Source: ARC from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt via NetGalley

April Bowers is Miss Invisible. Well, Miss Invisible with an oddly incurable bra stuffing addiction. She dreads starting sophomore year without her best -- and only -- friend Haley by her side. However, after a surprising incident that involves a cute skirt and some borrowed lip gloss, April finds herself invited to enter the exclusive clique of popular Britney Taylor. The thing is: no one gets to be that popular without a couple of haters. And April, desperate to attract the attention of the new boy she nicknames Mr. Hottie-Body Brentwood, is willing to try anything to improve her abysmal social ranking. But does that anything include tolerating the controlling Britney?

This book made me chuckle, at least at first. I was charmed by April’s snarky narrative and attitude. She was endearing in a younger sibling sort of way -- weird, considering the fact that she and I are both high school sophomores. As I got deeper into the book, I ended up getting more and more annoyed at April. She felt so artificial, along with all the other characters in the story. April’s friend Haley seemed especially fake. I would physically wince each time the two girls conversed on the phone. Their stilted conversations remind me of the script of some badly-written teenybopper TV drama.

The plot also lacked development. I know it’s impossible to fit every little detail into 200+ pages, but I felt that the humongous time skips in the story weren’t incorporated well enough. It was like walking down a flight of stairs and suddenly stepping through a missing step. Whoosh. Quite an uncomfortable feeling, you know?

Overall, The Lipstick Laws is a cute and slightly fluffy story about facing the mean girls of high school and accepting yourself for who you are.

Rating: 2

oh so unremarkable

Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma

Published May 27th 2010 by Definitions
432 pages
Source: Borrowed

This is the story of a boy and a girl, a brother and a sister, who woke up every morning to neglect and were shoved the responsibilities of parenthood. This is the story of their love.

Sigh...

Despite the controversial subject that Forbidden explores, I found myself rooting for Locchan and Maya as they struggled with the reality of society's view on their relationship. Yes, I did feel twinges of disgust -- perhaps I'm not as open-minded as I thought I was, although I guess this situation isn't really about open-mindedness at all. But the way Suzuma described the two, through changing perspectives of first person, immerses the reader completely and justifies the main characters' actions somehow.

Although why. Just why oh why oh why, Ms. Suzuma. Why did you... Couldn't you have somehow...

Forbidden is going to leave you feeling kind of hollow inside.

Rating: 4.5

between delightfully scrumptious and incomprehensibly awesome

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green & David Levithan

Published April 6th 2010 by Dutton Juvenile
310 pages
Source: Borrowed

What invariably happens when I plump down with a John Green or David Levithan book in my hands:
chuckle chuckle... giggle giggle snort... BUAHAHAHA choke cough cough...

So yes, this is why I avoid reading funny books in public. My personal sound effects would probably scare away people within a 3 mile radius or something. A teenager with a laughter-inducing book is quite a frightening combo.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson is centered around two seemingly different boys with the same name whose lives become intertwined when they accidentally meet inside a questionable institution for minors. Green's Will Grayson is my favorite type of nerd. He accepts his parents advice about life in general, is in love with obscure bands like Neutral Milk Hotel, and has the tendency to describe his love life with scientific paradoxes like Schroedinger's cat. Levithan's will grayson (no capitals), on the other hand, doesn't particularly care about anything (except maybe Isaac), hangs out with emotionally deficient computer programming geeks, and is still striving to discover a niche in the overwhelming existence that is life.

The truly amazing thing about realistic fiction is, obviously, its relatability. Sometimes I feel like the paranormal/fantasy YA I read sacrifice character depth and development for things like descriptions of magic or, oh I don't know, the history of the shapeshifter bunny rabbits. Will Grayson, Will Grayson contains a fantastic set of characters, each with their own happiness and woes. And that is why I adored this book. It felt real, surprisingly real. I will definitely be looking into the realistic fiction genre.

Off on a random tangent: I'm going to start using andbutso in my daily speech, just to confuse the unfortunate individuals I happen to be communicating with.

Rating: 4

delightfully scrumptious

The Absolute Value of -1 by Steve Brezenoff

Published September 1st 2010 by Carolrhoda
264 pages
Source: Borrowed

The story follows three troubled teens -- Lily, Noah, and Simon -- through their tumultuous sophomore years, as family and peer pressure, both good and bad, overwhelm the confused trio. Relationships change as the three seek to find out who they truly are.

When I saw the title of this book, the math nerd inside me couldn't resist, and I just had to read it. Although the author's application of the concept of the "absolute value" was very fitting to the plot at hand, I thought it could be developed and integrated more into the story. That said, the three main characters contained a lot of depth, and their struggles and voices seemed authentic. The different POV's provided enough insight into each character without being too direct. Overall, an angsty, but enjoyable book.

Rating: 2

oh so unremarkable