Tuesday, October 21, 2014

YA Mini-Reviews


Lucy is in love with Shadow, a mysterious graffiti artist.
Ed thought he was in love with Lucy, until she broke his nose.
Dylan loves Daisy, but throwing eggs at her probably wasn't the best way to show it.
Jazz and Leo are slowly encircling each other.
An intense and exhilarating 24 hours in the lives of four teenagers on the verge: of adulthood, of HSC, of finding out just who they are, and who they want to be.
A lyrical new YA novel from the award-winning author of Chasing Charlie Duskin and the Gracie Faltrain series.
(Summary from GoodReads) 



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Graffiti Moon is a book I picked up because I’d heard great things about Cath Crowley’s writing.  While I think Cath Crowley is a good writer, I wouldn’t say I’m the Target audience for this book.  I always struggle a little bit with books about artists, but as someone who isn’t an artist, I don’t always get it.  For example, I thought it was really cool that Lucy was into glassblowing, but I didn’t really get why she wanted to track down the graffiti artist.  Crowley’s prose is nice, but not the kind of prose that makes me want to weep. I found the romance to be a little predictable and I just wasn’t especially entertained by the plot of this one.  I don’t regret reading it, but found it to be good rather than exceptional.




She’s been six different people in six different places: Madeline in Ohio, Isabelle in Missouri, Olivia in Kentucky . . . But now that she’s been transplanted to rural Louisiana, she has decided that this fake identity will be her last.
Witness Protection has taken nearly everything from her. But for now, they’ve given her a new name, Megan Rose Jones, and a horrible hair color. For the past eight months, Meg has begged her father to answer one question: What on earth did he do – or see – that landed them in this god-awful mess? Meg has just about had it with all the Suits’ rules — and her dad’s silence. If he won’t help, it’s time she got some answers for herself.
But Meg isn’t counting on Ethan Landry, an adorable Louisiana farm boy who’s too smart for his own good. He knows Meg is hiding something big. And it just might get both of them killed. As they embark on a perilous journey to free her family once and for all, Meg discovers that there’s only one rule that really matters — survival.
(Summary from GoodReads) 



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I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I picked up The Rules for Disappearing—it turned out to be such a great book!  I do not recommend reading this book at night when you know you have to get up for work the next day, because this book is so addictive.  I had to know what happened, and I also enjoyed the sweet romance with Ethan.  There was a nice twist at the end, and I’m looking forward to getting my hands on .



One part Libba Bray's GOING BOVINE, two parts String Theory, and three parts love story equals a whimsical novel that will change the way you think about the world.
Sophie Sophia is obsessed with music from the late eighties. She also has an eccentric physicist father who sometimes vanishes for days and sees things other people don’t see. But when he disappears for good and Sophie’s mom moves them from Brooklyn, New York, to Havencrest, Illinois, for a fresh start, things take a turn for the weird. Sophie starts seeing things, like marching band pandas, just like her dad.

Guided by Walt, her shaman panda, and her new (human) friend named Finny, Sophie is determined to find her father and figure out her visions, once and for all. So she travels back to where it began—New York City and NYU’s physics department. As she discovers more about her dad’s research on M-theory and her father himself, Sophie opens her eyes to the world’s infinite possibilities—and her heart to love.
Perfect for fans of Going Bovine, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and The Probability of Miracles.
(Summary from GoodReads) 




Kari Luna’s book The Theory of Everything is perhaps one of the strangest books I read in 2013. Luna’s novel focuses on a young girl who has bizarre visions and is also trying to track down her physicist father.  When I first started reading about Sophie’s visions, I thought they were quirky and even a little bit cute.  As the plot progressed, it felt like the themes started to get a little bit serious.  I felt like the visions managed to overshadow the storyline, and that the plotline with the visions didn’t go anywhere.  I’d pass this one off to readers who want something that’s light, fun, and different.

1 comment:

  1. I LOVED The Rules for Disappearing! It was such a surprise for me too because I thought I'd like it but by the end I felt like I wanted the second book in my hands like RIGHT NOW PLEASE. I haven't read the second one yet but MAN I really want to - I loved that twist too! I may need to reread the first one though but that's okay.

    I liked Graffiti Moon - I read it a while ago and I thought it was fantastic. I agree about the specific types of art - that was a little unusual. And yes, maybe a little predictable, but if I judge on my enjoyment of the story I loved it.

    I have never heard of the third book! EEK! I love this post and this format! I need to do something like this (:

    Reply

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