Backstage

The drama builds in this second book in the Boy Band series! And all of the secrets floating around Mel definitely keep her on her toes as she tries to simply enjoy her new relationship before the band takes off on their third world tour. But things are never that easy, especially for a world famous boy band and those closest to them!

With this second book we get a closer look at the turmoil laying just beneath the surface for this tight knit group of boys and the two women they feel closest to. With everyone keeping secrets and the stress building before the tour starts, there was bound to be plenty of ups and downs! This book was definitely a page turner as I eagerly read it to see what would happen between all of the characters that are really starting to grow on me! And while I feel confident that I know Jacqueline's writing style and I would love to feel secure in Mel's relationship, Smith is great at throwing twists and turns that can completely upend a character's life! So with the end of this book I eagerly grab up the next one and settle in for a world tour that is promising to entertain both the fans of The Kind Of Summer and Smith's readers!

Boy Band

It's been a little while since I picked up and finished a novel. With moving homes and school starting, things have been too chaotic for a book to really grab me. But I was looking forward once more to the Texas Teen Book Festival in Austin, because I knew I was going to find some great new books and authors! I also knew I would be given the chance to once more see a local author that I love to read, Jacqueline E. Smith!

If you have read any of my past posts you might have seen her name as she wrote the awesome Cemetery Tours Series that I love so much! After reading the 3rd book in that series and seeing that the next book wasn't due out until this month, I knew I was going to have to pick up her other series to enjoy more of her fun writing style! Boy Band did not disappoint! As soon as we got in the car to head home from Austin, only a 4 hours drive for us, I picked up the book and began reading. I finished later that night with only breaks for when the car was stopped and cooking dinner! I couldn't put it down!

Boy Band follows the story of The Kind of Summer, a hot new boy band that is about to release their third album, and their closest friend Mel, who happens to be in love with one of the band's members. Told from the point of Mel as she travels with the band taking pictures and video for them while also managing online courses to please her parents, the story is filled with relationship drama, hilarious moments of friendship, and lots of flyer miles! It makes this trope fun to visit one more time as we cheer for Mel and ride on the roller coaster that is her life at 20 years of age.

Jacqueline Smith is such a great writer! Her stories are light and fun with an underlying element of drama that is ever-present in real life! Her characters are relatable and very real, making mistakes and trying to figure out how to navigate life just like everyone else. Of course, the fact that they also have to deal with world wide fame, outrageous rumors, and the stress that comes with being on the road and constantly together, just makes the story all that much more interesting. This first books was incredible and I finished it way too fast! I am already elbow deep in the second book and can't wait to see how the story unfolds!

After Death

Jacqueline E. Smith is a local (Dallas) writer whom I discovered on the shelf at a small town library. I read the first two books in her series, and while I thoroughly enjoyed the books, I didn't push the issue when we didn't go back to that library. Fast forward to a Texas Teen Book Festival as we are leaving the main room when a book catches my eye. "Hey, I've read those books. They were great! Wonder if the author is here?" I was going to just keep walking (thanks social anxiety), but my mother refuses to pass up the chance to tell an author they have a fan. Twenty minutes later, I walk out with 3 new autographed books and Jacqueline and I are mutually following each other on Instagram. Awesome day!

I meant to read this third book back in January, for the "A" in this year's alphabet challenge. But between house hunting, moving house, the end of the school year, things have been chaotic and I have finally sat down to finish a book for the first time this year!

Guys! This books was great! I already love Jacqueline's writing from the first two books, and her characters are funny, real, and just the best. So it isn't a surprise that I was immediately in love at the start of this last book. That I finished it in one day should have been expected. The story follows Michael, Kate, and Luke primarily with appearances from the always wonderful Brink as well as some truly confusing and vile lesser characters. The story left me second guessing things left and right up until the end when I was pleasantly surprised. Oh, and yes, I teared up at the end, it was beautiful. I am so glad I have this series on my shelf to revisit in the future! And of course I am looking forward to trying out her other books! Go read these, now! You will love them!

The Truth About Alice

Jennifer Mathieu will be at the North Texas Tenn Book Festival in March! Since the festival is so early in the year I decided to start looking at the writers early on and was quick to discover this book I have been meaning to read for so long is on the list. Now I really want to find the book they are spotlighting and read that one because she is fantastic!

The Truth About Alice is about the power of rumor. From the very beginning the reader is told the truth of the situation: Alice is a slut and responsible for the star quarterback's death. This is what everyone in the small Texas town knows because someone told them. In this way the reader hears the details of the situation from the point of view of four different students at Healy High, people who knew Alice and saw parts of what happened. Only, they don't always tell the truth, and rumors spread like wildfire.

Mathieu captures perfectly the harmful impact of a rumor. Someone is a little upset, says something maybe they shouldn't, and suddenly a girl's life is ruined. This book reminded me strongly of Thirteen Reasons Why, so if you liked that one, I am sure you will enjoy this one. Now, things don't get as drastic, there is no suicide in this one, but looking at Alice as she is shunned and starts slipping away from herself, I could see things getting worse if one of the characters had not stepped up. Because this book is also a beautiful reminder of what the power of one person can do if they reach out. It is a great book!

I must point out that Mathieu is writing from the point of view of teenagers, something I have complained about in the past, but she does it wonderfully. Yes, three of the four main characters kind of tick me off, but as a person, not as a reader too annoyed by the voice of the narrators to read it. Mathieu does a great job of writing characters I loved to hate.

My only complaint was that with the way the stories are told it is a little hard to understand the timeline. When I first began I assumed that the events that sparked the rumors all occurred on one night. No. There were two distinct nights that led everyone to telling stories and many small events in between that spawned more. As the characters tell their sides of events all this becomes clear, but in the beginning it was rather confusing.

All in all the book was wonderful and I can't wait to pick up more of Mathieu's work and meet the woman to tell her how great her writing is! I hope you pick up the book as well!

A great way to start off the year of reading!

2017 Reading Plans

Well, I managed to leave last year's challenge in the dust! I read 83 books when my goal was only at 60. Of course, a lot of those were mangas which I will probably being staying away from for this new year since I have read the only interesting ones at the library branch I visit. I will however be finishing the Attack On Titan series as soon as I get a chance, so look for an update for those at some point.

I am going to be putting the bar at 60 once more for this year, and try to tackle more novels for the goal. I will also be going along with the themes set up by the book club my sister moderate once more, so look out for some weird patterns in my reading once more! I look forward to really expanding my base again as I try to meet each theme. As I did last year I will have the themes posted by the month in the right column of my page and my posts labeled. 2 books per theme!

Also on my plans is another of the Game of Thrones series, so be on the look out for that!

I believe that we are also changing up plans for the Texas Teen Book Festival, attending the North Texas one this year in Irving in March. If that is the plan, my update of new books from there will probably be used to fulfill some of the themes. We will just have to wait and see!

I hope everyone has a fun year full of books ahead of them!

Bloodline

I discovered Joe Jimenez at this year's Texas Teen Book Festival. I attended a panel, "Pieces of Me", on which he spoke and I discovered that I just had to read this man's work. Quickly I dashed back to the book sales, picked up a copy of Bloodline, and hurried to the signing tent to have him autograph it. Actually, I intend to send it to my friend, Abby, so I didn't have him personalize it to me. But I got to shake his hand, tell him his words on the panel were amazing, and confess I just couldn't wait to read this book. I'm glad for that opportunity.

Bloodline is the story of Abraham, a junior in high school with no real male role models to speak of. When he gets suspended from school the second time, for his third fight, his grandmother decides to invite her other son, Abraham's Uncle Claudio, to come live with them to give the boy direction. What follows is Abraham's struggle to deal: with his uncle being back, his growing feelings for his friend Ophelia, his uncontrollable desire to fight. It's the story of a boy struggling to grow up.

Two things I need to say about this book as a warning: 1) It's written in second person. With this, Jimenez makes you live the story, makes you feel Abraham's struggle. It is now a popular style of writing, and that's ok, because it adds to the impact Jimenez delivers it with. I actually, really enjoyed this style for this story! 2) This is the story of Hamlet. There are some differences, a few details changed to make this story its own, but it is Hamlet, know that.

With those two things clear, I have to say this was a really good read. At first I wondered if I could make it through, not only because of the point of view, but because it seemed far too heavy in metaphor. But as I read on, it grew on me. We feel things n ways that are sometimes hard to describe except by comparing them to other things. Jimenez effectively captures emotions raging in this young man and makes t easier to grasp while giving it more depth. I began to love his writing quickly. Just a few chapters in and I couldn't put the book down. It was an incredible story.

I really look forward to passing this book along, to hearing what my friend thinks of it, to discussing it with her. I would love it if everyone gave it a chance. I think that a lot of people would love the tale Jimenez tells. So go read it! And let me know what you thought of it!

This Dark Endeavor

August: Texas Teen Book Festival

Held in Austin, TX, TTBF highlights YA authors and their audience by bringing the two together for a weekend to talk about the stories we are falling in love with.

Kenneth Oppel is one of the authors that will be at the Texas Teen Book Festival this year. Focus will be on his book Every Hidden Thing, but I couldn't find that when I went to the library. Instead I was intrigued by this previous book of his. This Dark Endeavor follows the story of a young Victor Frankenstein as he undertakes an adventurous quest into the world of alchemy to find a cure for his ailing brother. Full of action, intrigue, and passion, most of which is embodied by young Victor, Oppel's story gives us a look into Victor's past leading to hid dark curiosity into the world of the dead and the driving force behind his later experiments.

I really did enjoy this one. Oppel did a good job of creating not only a dire situation for Victor that would push him so urgently forward, but he gave an overwhelming amount of chaos behind the endeavor. Add a love triangle that leads to an internal war Victor wages as he tried to help his brother, and it makes for an amazing tale. And Oppel is a gifted writer!

My only draw back was that I was expecting Mary Shelley. This was my own fault and I should have seperated my love of the classic with my curiosity for this new tale. When Oppel's voice, a great one in its own right, was all I read it made the beginning of the novel a little slow going. hat being said I look forward to reading the next book in this little series as well as the book being highlighted at the festival this year. As I said, Oppel is a fantastic writer.

I highly encourage fans of the classic Frankenstein give this one a chance.

Thirteen Reasons Why

May - Books with numbers in the title.

Thirteen Reasons Why is a unique book. The majority of the book is told from one boy's point of view, Clay Jensen as he listens to a series of cassette tapes that were sent to him in the mail. What is he listening to: Hannah Baker's story of her thirteen reasons why she killed herself.

I found this book in a Half Price Books last year after the Texas Teen Book Festival, but I didn't have the money to get it at the time so I made a point of taking down the title and author so that I could get it as soon as possible. Then my sister said she was listening to the audio book for this month's book club read and I thought that would be perfect, it gave me the chance to talk to someone else who had read the book. So I bought my copy and waited anxiously for it to get to me in the mail. And read it in one day.

This book hits close to home for me. There was a point in my life when I thought that suicide might be the answer to my problems. Lucky for me I am kind of a wuss and couldn't go through with it. It doesn't keep me from stopping every so often to think about it, from considering what it would take and what it would affect. I am also lucky enough to have a best friend who had also been at that point in her life and knew how to talk me down. I now have more people to turn to, including that first friend. But to this day I can still name the people and events that led to that first real consideration. Much like Hannah picked out her list of reasons, I could still do it thirteen years after I was in that same place. Wow, thirteen years ago. Is that serendipity? Ok, this got pretty heavy for a book review.

So, this book. It was incredible, I really think so. There were a few times when maybe I wasn't thrilled with a sentence, or maybe something seemed just slightly less than amazingly written. But those times were very few, far between, and not worth note. What is important was how well Jay Asher brings to life this story. Not only does he give the reader this unique format of having parts of the chapters told from a cassette tape, but he does a wonderful story of interjecting Clay's world into it. Not just his thoughts about what is being said, but what he is does as he listens to the tapes, as if the reader is also hearing Hannah in the background as Clay lives. What's better, you can hear parts of the cassette tapes on YouTube, as posted by a "friend".

And as Clay listens to the tapes, as he anxiously waits at the start of each new story to find out if this one is for him, I waited anxiously. I am pretty sure that I felt every thing that Clay felt, including the heartbreak for his story and the start and stop of tears as he listened. Asher does an amazing job of turning the reader into Clay. Part of me really hates that I read the book instead of listening to it on tape because I hear the way it alternates between narrators is fantastic. I'll ask my sister's opinion on that matter when she gets done with listening to it. Maybe I'll listen to it some time in the future.

Which leads me to what I plan on doing with this book. I am going to put it on my shelf. I am going to loan it out to anyone that even looks in its general direction. I am going to hold on to it until my son is getting ready to start high school and I am going to make him read it before he starts. I will do the same for my daughter (who I am really worried has the potential to be a bully) and have a good long talk when she is done with it. Because I think everyone needs to read it. No one ever realizes the impact their little thoughtless acts have on others. People don't think about the possibility that others are fighting their own battles and that one wrong push can really tip their scales. I need at least my children to think before they act. This is a lesson this book paints so vividly as it tells stories that may seem so simple and innocuous individually but add up to be just too much for Hannah. So I will pass this book on. Frequently.

If you have your own take on this book, on this story, let me know. Or check out ThirteenReasonsWhy to share you story or see others.

I also want to leave you with a few things. Like the number for a hotline: 1-800-SUICIDE. A website: www.hopeline.com . An organization: To Write Love On Her Arms. A campaign: The Semicolon Project. Even a name: Jared Padelecki. Please, if you think that you are at a place in your life where nothing else can help, try just once more. And remember, you can always reach out to me, through a comment of email. And always keep in mind that others may be struggling, so try to always be kind to each other.

Final Life

April - Books with RED covers.

At the 2015 Texas Teen Book Festival my mom met a local author, Rose Garcia. They talked, my mom thought her book idea sounded cool, she bought the book. She just passed it on to me to read. And while I was interested in the idea behind the Transhuman Chronicles, I feel that the book has left me with less than stellar feelings.

To start with, I don't feel as if Garcia sat down and worked through all the details of the story. There are points during which she contradicts herself, going back and correcting what the main character had been told. She passes these off as 'well, we kept this little bit from you' or 'it's just a theory but it could work even though I just said yesterday that it wouldn't' and maybe it works for her, but I was left feeling a little shafted.

There were also too many moments of recap. I know what all has been happening in the story so far, because like the main character I have been there for it all. Why she feels the need to recount events that happened yesterday (repeatedly through the book) I don't understand, and I certainly didn't need it as a reader.

This being said I did find the book interesting enough to sit down and read it in one day, so there's that. Like I said, it is an interesting idea, nine lives in which you can figure out your purpose and this one girl who is on her last life and the fate of the world rests on her surviving to the next day. Throw in the fact that her parents are sort of superhumans with special powers that totally skipped her in the worst hand dealt ever, a dramatic move to not only a new town and state but who different climate during the main character's senior year of high school, and a love triangle that just breaks your heart for one guy but you also can't help but hope for the other, and you have yourself an entertaining read at the very least. So who knows, maybe this will become your new favorite book or author if you give it a chance. I'm only telling you my problems with the story so you are forewarned about it's shortcomings. None of the issues I had with the writing kept me from finishing the book, and I think that's what counts. Plus, it never hurts to support a new author.

I do think I will pick up the other books in the series at some point in the future. I do want to know where things go from here for the main characters after all. I just don't see it happening right away. If you do read the book, let me know what you think! I would love to hear a second opinion!

The Eye of Minds

Feb. - Books published in the last five years.

So, I got this book at one of the Texas Teen Book Festivals, autographed of course, and it has been patiently been sitting on my shelf waiting for me to get a chance to pick it up. When I had last talked to my son about what I should read next he told me to wait until we could read this one together. So, at the beginning of February we picked this one up and started reading it in intervals.

Jareth ended up making it 2/3 of the way through it before he moved on because it is sometime hard for him to keep interested when a book is broken up so much. We hadn't been reading it every day as we should have. When I finally asked if he was done, I did continue to tell him what was going on as I read it. He was still very interested in the story.

I was a little worried that working so slowly through it would have a negative effect on my interest in the story, but when I actually sat down and read it, I slipped right back into the story and moved quickly through it. Dashner is a great author that does a wonderful job of holding the reader's attention.

The story is one that follows a gamer named Michael, a teenager that lays down in his virtual reality bed and slips into the VR world to play games with his friends. After he sees a girl rip her own Core out (the link that separates your VR mind from your real body so that when you die in the game, you don't actually die in the real world) he is contacted by the VNS, a government organization in charge of monitoring the Virtual World. An Agent Weber asks that Michael and his two best friends make their way through the system to find Kaine, a man who is slowly hijacking people for experimentation and sometimes killing them. Michael and his hacking skills are needed. But the closer Michael and his friends get to Kaine the more crazy the world becomes until Michael is having real trouble figuring out just what exactly is going on.

Not only is Dashner such a great writer, capturing the voices of these teenage gamers wonderfully to make the reader laugh, but his plotting ability is astonishing. I am still kind of reeling from the major plot twist at the end of the book. When I explained it to my husband he was shocked. Jareth literally screamed "What!?" It was just mind-blowing.

This book was a great one. Especially for me and Jareth who loved the show Sword Art Online where the gamers were stuck in the program until one of them could beat the game. The Eye of Minds is a great story because with VR slowly easing further into everyone's lives, the events of this story could actually one day take place! It makes it a great story for young adults. I look forward to picking up the next one and seeing how Michael's story progresses.

::EDIT:: I am marking the scheduled publish date on this for Feb. 29th so it will be listed on the Feb bracket, even though I didn't finish the book until March 1st.

The 100

A book based on or turned into a TV show.

I will admit, when I saw this book laying on the table at the 2014 Texas Teen Book Festival I picked it up simply because we had watched the show and enjoyed it. I wanted to read more behind the characters, maybe read more of the story before the show covered it, and compare them. I also got to meet Kass Morgan and talk to her for a little while as I waited for my sister to get another author's autograph. She was thrilled to find out that each week my husband, son, and I would sit down and watch the show with excitement. She asked me about my opinion of the character and story and I told her I loved both. She personalized my book with a little note to my family - To the Bowles, Happy Reading! (and watching =) ).

I am so wishing I had read the book before meeting her! I want to tell her how much more I loved the story she had laid out, the background of the characters being a bit more heartbreaking than the show gave them. There is more romance in the book, since nearly everyone is part of a couple, but that gives more room for heartbreak! And I love Bellamy more in the book, and from the beginning. I was also a just as annoyed by Clarke's indecision in the book, but hey, there is room for her to grow.

The book has more drama, especially since the story line only follows the main characters. With Clarke, Wells, and Bellamy all on Earth you only know what they know. You only have their little bits of back story to tell you about the world on the ship. The only character in space is Glass and since she is not yet an adult, she doesn't have the inside story on anything. You only know what she sees as she tries to stay out of the way until her pardon can be formalized. There is so much of what is going on that is a mystery to the reader. And I love it! It puts you on the edge of your seat and keeps you guessing on what is going to happen, who is going to survive, how will things work out.

If you liked the show, definitely give the book a try. I don't think too much will be spoiled since usually there is a divergence between the two mediums. If you haven't seen the show but enjoy post-apocalyptic survival stories, really give it a try. This story promises to have twists and mayhem aplenty! Let me know what you think!

The 5th Wave

A book with a number in the title.

I picked this book up at the 2014 Texas Teen Book Festival, and it's a signed copy at that! I am sure the only thing that kept me from reading it right away, since it sounded like an awesome read. I could hit myself for not picking it up sooner!

The Earth is invaded by aliens! But no one sees a single one. From the moment the mothership appears in orbit above the Earth, humans are left in waiting for what the visitors will do. With each new wave of the aliens' attack humans are shocked, unprepared for the way their enemy chooses to strike, and the numbers of the dead increase with astonishing speed.
Cassie, the first narrator of the story, is left in fear that she may be the last person on the planet, but still determined to keep the promise she made to her younger brother that she would find him.
Zombie, his nickname and you're not getting his real name or it would ruin the surprise, is another narrator telling the story of a teenager near death turned into a soldier.
Others are followed through third person story telling alternating with these two first person view points; others like Sammy, Cassie's brother, and a Silencer sent to kill her. But don't worry, Yancy does an incredible job of weaving the voices together in a way that just works.

This books is just awesome. Yancy is a great writer, able to tell a story from a teenage girl's point of view in a way I am a little envious of. Then he manages to make you laugh at the most random moments, and isn't that how the end of the world needs to be, laughing in the face of hopelessness? He, also manages to take a theme that may seem over-worked, Cassie has a ton of references to alien invasions to think about on her journey, and puts a spin on it that is still fairly new! The humans were not expecting what happened! And they are in no way prepared for the 5th wave!

I recommend everyone give this book a chance! I am recommending it to my mom, husband, and son as soon as I get done with this post! And the minute I can get my hands on the second book, The Infinite Sea, you can bet I will be quick with a new post! All the praise possible to Rick Yancy for this amazing story!

EDIT:

We took our son to see the movie, as an Us and J day. Both my husband and I had read it, but I think it is just a little too advanced for our nine year old son, but we thought the movie would really interest him. Well, he loved it. He is so ready for the next one to come out and was asking about the book, which now sits on his shelf for when he is ready to tackle it. What did we think?

It was amazing! There were very few differences between the book and movie, little things that you notice but mostly can live without. Although, I have to say that for the next half hour all my husband could talk about was how upset he was that they hadn't included the bomb they used. My one flaw had to do with Evan Walker, something I won't relate to you, but it made me a little sad that they changed it, even though I could completely understand why. And the casting! Oh the cast was just about perfect for each character, especially Vosch!

All in all it was a great movie made after a great book! Take the time to enjoy both!

Five: Out Of The Dark

A book with magic.

This was one of the books I picked up at the 2014 Texas Teen Book Festival, and immediately from the description on the back of the book I thought it sounded like a cross between Supernatural and maybe Teen Wolf (keep in mind I have never seen Teen Wolf). Yeah, it was kinda like that.

The book is narrated by Paige, a sixteen year old runaway who left home when her parents discovered her magical abilities and tried to send her off to some treatment facility to get rid of the evil spirits obviously possessing her. Paige feels a strange pull to Seattle where she finds Jonathan hiding out in the Underground, she is overjoyed the cute boy has abilities, too. They are soon joined by Alec, Halli, and Seth, making them a ragtag, magical Scooby gang, except none of them can go near a computer due to their magic.  When Jonathan is turned into a warewolf and Seth finds a case at a local high school, the gang is thrown maybe a little more than they can handle. Paige tells the story of how they worked to protect others while she tried to figure out how to protect themselves.

I will say the story is rather interesting. It has a fairly interesting plot with quiet a few wrenches thrown into their gears that promises a lot more to come in the future for this brave lot. However, the execution isn't the best.

Maybe it's because it is written in first person, know that I am not a fan, but the style of the book kept bothering me. Not only is Paige a teenager, like most kids she is incredibly self-centered, and it's not until near the end that she finally starts to consider what it must be like for Jonathan to be a monster rather than how it all affected her. Even then it was only for a brief moment before the pity party settled back around her and she seemed to be looking for a cure for nearly selfish reasons! I am not Paige's biggest fan.
Writing in first person became a problem also because of the writer. Anderson randomly threw big words into the mix that really pulled me out of the zone. Sure I used a ton of big words as a teen, I knew kids that loved to impress others with big words. I get that it is possible. However, here it felt more like Anderson got tired of using the word "said" too often, picked up a thesaurus, and picked a word at random to put in the space left. It caused hitches in my reading.

I just couldn't help but think through most of reading this book that it would be better suited for my 9 year old son. I believe the main reason Anderson felt it was better suited for young adults was because the characters where in their teens and once Jonathan is turned into a warewolf they use the word lust a few times. So I am going to hand this book to my son, see if he wants to read it in a year or two, and leave it at that. Normally with young adult, even teen marketed books, I am able to recommend it to readers of nearly all ages, that is not the case here. This one I recommend for the younger crowd, strictly teens. But give it a chance if you are in that group, it is an interesting story line that promises more to come.

Everything, Everything

A book published this year.

Madeline Whittier has SCID (Severe Combined Immunodeficiency) which means besically that she is allergic to the world. She lives with her mother, thankfully a doctor, inside a vacuum sealed home, only visited by her nurse and the occasional tutor willing to go through a thorough medical background check, physical, and an hour long decontamination before even stepping foot in the house. She has lived like this since she was diagnosed at five months old, only a month after her father and brother were killed by a truck driver. It's just her and her mom, studying through online tutors, and books. Lots of books.
The day Olly and his family move in next door is the beginning of the end for Madeline. Starting with a few long distance antics over a stone bundt cake, soon the new neighbors are emailing back and forth to get to know one another. It's enough. Until it isn't. Soon Madeline wants so much more from the world than she has been given. "Wanting just leads to more wanting. There is no end to desire."

I loved this book. I loved the way it was formatted, with little charts, drawings, inserts, one line chapters, all of it. It is the book of an eighteen year old, and the way Yoon decided to write it is wonderful. I enjoyed the characters even though Olly is just a little too perfect. I think I found Madeline a little more awesome than most. And I loved the story. There may have been a little cheesy, but there were perfects moments throughout that just made it wonderful.

I think this book was great. I recommend everyone give it a chance. And I am deffinetely going to be looking out for more of Nicola Yoon's books!

The Treatment

A book with a love triangle.

I was so incredibly happy upon getting home from vacation, where I read The Program, to find that I had in fact bought The Treatment the weekend before leaving home; along with about 20 others so that's how I forgot.

I was so excited to pick it up and start immediately, even though I was scared it would have me crying and too eager to finish for my own good. I was so right. I finished the book in one day, but managed to contain most of the tears by frantically turning the pages.

This book begins almost immediately after the first one ends. We find Sloane and James in an abandoned parking lot just across the border and having been unable to meet up with their friends. We later find out what happened to those friends, along with the safe house they were originally heading for. The Program is closing in on them. What follows is a roller coaster of a chase where The Program gets a lot to close for comfort, Sloane and James are forced out of their comfort zones and thrown for trust loops, and of course Realm has to return just to through a psychopathic monkey wrench into everyone's plans. This last reason is why I choose this book to fill the "love triangle" list item, because at times that aspect seemed more important than the actual chase.

I did have a few issues with this book, parts that were disappointing after the almost flawless nature of the first book, but I was able to overlook them to keep reading the book, far too interested and invested in the story to slow down. However, I will say that the ending was a small bit of a let down after the crazy roller coaster that was Sloane's life before, during, and after The Program. And like I said, the focus at times seemed to be more on the relationships of the characters than on the drastic nature of what The Program wants to do to those characters if it gets its hands on them. This leads to the characters making some pretty stupid decisions that only luck gets them out of, but hey, it's fiction.

It doesn't mean I wouldn't recommend it, because I so do! I believe firmly the book was worth it's flaws. I was, after all, impressed with James attitude change over the course of the novel. Although Sloane does nothing to help her boyfriend with his trust issues, she does see the error of her ways just in time for James to come back to make everything better. Sort of. And wow is Realm not the guy everyone thought, but then I must say, I never really liked him anyway.


I look forward to picking up the last book in the series, a prequel I am told, The Remedy, as soon as I can. I would love to find out how this all started, things so bad that parents would willingly let their children be "erased" to simply keep them alive. This series did bring up some very interesting questions. Would you be willing to have your child's memories, things that possibly make them who they are, to be taken from them just so they stay alive? At what point is it more humane to let them kill themselves over us killing their souls? How desperate would you be?

I would love your take on these books, if you have read them. I would really recommend that you give them a chance if you haven't! Young is one hell of a writer.

The Program

A book that made you cry.

Wow, this book was something else.
When teenage suicide becomes so prevalent it is seen as an epidemic, The Program is developed to watch teens, flag them when they seem depressed, and take them in for treatment. The treatment is to erase the memories The Program deems dangerous to the teenager, things that may have led to their depression, people that may have made them sick. Sloane has front seat tickets to the illness infecting youths when her brother kills himself, her best friend is flagged and taken for six weeks only to return with no memory of Sloane or even her boyfriend, Miller, who is next to be infected. When James, Sloane's boyfriend, her brother's best friend, is flagged, Sloane begins falling as well and finds herself in The Program against her will.
Underneath the pain of not being able to show any emotion in fear of being perceived as ill, the characters in this world are trying to not only play at being seen as happy, but maybe even trying for a few moments of actual happiness. And Suzanne does an incredible job at capturing it all with characters just as jaded and complex as the youths of today. Her writing invoked every emotion on the scale as she told a painful love story through the eyes of a trouble teen. I found myself unable to put down the book, choosing to wear sunglasses as I read in public to hide the tears as James and Sloane, both with no idea who the other is, try to fight their way through the after effects of The Program side by side with very little memory of their past.
Suzanne also does an amazing job of showing the parents in this novel. When I was suffering through my first bouts of depression I remember my father's reluctance to even acknowledge a problem. Later when it became too hard to ignore, I listened to him argue for getting me help in whatever way he could and I worried what that meant for me, who was then trying to hold it together not only for myself but a dear friend of mine. We helped each other through the worst of it together and I could not even begin to imagine loosing her to something like The Program, erasing memories of me because I may have made her ill. Like Sloane I clung to my small circle of companions to help get us all through the toughest years. I can fully sympathize with Sloane as she looses her grip on her emotions while too many eyes waited for her to misstep.
This book was so close to home for me, and it made my heart ache at every turn as Sloane made her way through it all. Suzanne's wonderful writing made it amazing, made it a fantastic read that I didn't want to put down late into the night. The next book is already sitting on my shelf waiting to be picked up! And I recommend everyone give these books a chance!

Dismantling Evan

A book set in high school.

I got to meet Venessa Kimball at the Texas Teen Book Festival and got a moment to talk to her about her books. While I am interested in picking up them all, this one appealed to me at this time because of the subject matter.


Evan is a high school senior when her parents move her from California to Texas to try and give her a new start on life. This decision is spurned by her breakdown while trying to interview a bullying jock for the school newspaper, her one outlet. Even is diagnosed with bipolar, something she will deny to her dying day, and given medicine and encouraged to seek counseling int his new town. While trying to deal with the new stress this diagnoses brings into her house, Evan meets a circle of friends that she desperately wants to be a part of, one that closely protects one Gavin Ferguson, a boy bogged down by so many mental labels Evan wonders how his own brother Brody can keep up with them all, let alone with his brother int he absence of their father.

I must say that Venessa did not disappoint when it came to this story. I think she did a great job at writing high school students in all their drama as they try to make their way through life. Evan is a believable teen, even being a little annoying sometimes, and at times I saw some of myself and my own experiences in her. Most of all I liked how Venessa captured Evan's bouts of depression, insomnia, and almost manic episodes as she deals with her diagnosis and illness. 

This book did a wonderful job of setting up the stage as I work my way into the world of depression, self harm, and teenage angst for my NaNoWriMo novel in November. I am so glad I picked up this book and I look forward to reading her other ones and digging further into her writing style.