How To Breathe Underwater

Kate is a competitive swimmer, best in the state actually, and her father is the coach pushing her to perfection. Until one day at swim practice he is caught in the arms of a swim mom, in front of everyone! Suddenly Kate and her mother are moving an hour away to restart their lives, and Kate is no longer sure who she wants to be or what she wants to do. Enter Micheal, the cute boy across the hall, and Patrice the pretty and sweet girl who welcomes her in Chem class, who also happens to be dating Micheal, something Kate finds out after developing a major crush on the boy. Then out walks Harris, Kate's best friend for nearly her whole life! Kate's entire world is turned upside down by everything, most importantly, her decision to stop swimming. And suddenly Kate, at nearly seventeen years old, has to figure out where she is going from here.

I would like to start by saying the only thing I allowed to be colored by my favor of the author (who is my baby sister) was the fact that I picked the book up in the first place. I do not traditionally read YA Romance, or really very much romance at all these days. I am also completely against first person narrative, it bothers me, I find it hard to get into, and so I avoid it, a fact I am sure I have mentioned before. It takes a lot to get me to read a book combining these too elements, but I have read some of my sister's previous, unpublished works, and I knew she was a great writer, so there was never I doubt I would pick this book up. And I in no way doubt that decision because this book was amazing!

Vicky' writing style is on point! With a unique perspective thanks to the events of her life, she was able to write characters and events that were real, heartfelt, and altogether incredible! Every moment of this book was so perfectly descriptive and emotional! The characters were believable and lovable (even for a moment the father, whom you can't help but feel a flash of pity for). Kate's moments of panic were so accurate they stung, and created an appreciation for the author's ability to craft such scenes that I want to thrust this book on so many of my fellow readers. From the start I was pulled into the narrative and dragged from page to page needing to know how it would all turn out, how Kate would handle everything being thrown at her, how things could possibly work out in the end. And I was not disappointed as I finally laid the book down only a day after picking it up.

Vicky Skinner is a truly gifted story teller! And I can't wait to see what the future holds for this talented young writer! Knowing what is coming next year, what she is working on after that, I am so incredibly excited to add her stories to my shelves and delve into more of her unique tales! Go pick up this book now and get ready to discover a new beloved author!

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 Jane Austen Project

Take two people from our current timeline, give them a crash course in 1815, and toss them back into the past to have them get close to one of the most prolific writers in history. What could possibly go wrong? Well for Rachel Katzman and Liam Finucane it starts with a climbing boy. Can they hope to alter the past as little as possible while trying to become friends with the Austens and get close enough to get their hands on some very personal letters and a manuscript always though unfinished? Or will they change things too much and alter the world they came from?

This was a very interesting read, guys! Flynn tells the story of two people getting to do what a lot of us avid readers wished we could do, go back and meet the writer of some of our favorite stories, get the chance to know her, try to understand her more. But we all know that playing with time travel is a dangerous game. Something Katzman and Finucane learn as soon as they arrive in 1815 and nearly have the whole thing blown over a surly inn keeper and their lack of luggage. Yet they persist.

What follows was a bit of a roller coaster for our characters as they try to balance themselves carefully into a world they really can't fully fit into while trying not to alter the course of history too much. After all they were only sent back to observe, get copies of a few letters and a manuscript, and make it home to tell their superiors what they learned. But Rachel in particular has a very hard time keeping to the mission plan.

I enjoyed the novel, despite how easily it all ended when things did go south for our travelers. It was fun to read of Rachel trying to hold back the fangirl when interacting with Jane. Watching events unfold at the end of Jane's life in a different way. And seeing that world from the eyes of someone from our own time. It all made for a great story told with a wonderful voice. Because while Rachel sometimes annoyed me enough to have me groaning and rolling my eyes, I did like the way Flynn wrote her. The book was fun! I would recommend it to anyone unable to get enough of Jane Austen of Regency era novels!

Confessions of a Middle School Nerd

Ok, so I found this one on the local authors shelf as well, and I picked it up for my 10 yr old son who is now part of the middle school in our small town school system. But he has a long to read list of his own, so I decided to go ahead and read it by myself. A very interesting choice.

Confessions of a Middle School Nerd is a very short read, only 81 pages with the text taking up only a small block of each page. But it was a fun and quick read for that reason. Written in the first person by a narrator who is quirky and funny, this book is almost like a journal for the writer. The narrator starts off by saying that she wrote most of this down to work through a few things, mostly days in her life that she feels should be highlighted to help her come to a conclusion she can only catch glimpses of. So we get little tidbits of this middle schooler's days. The stories are all focused around one main point, the narrator is awkward. But in the end she comes to the realization that not only is she ok with this fact about herself, she can revel in it, because she likes who she is.

Like I said, the book was short and sweet. I enjoyed taking a little time to read it, especially since I could so relate to some of these moments in the narrator's time in middle school. So I encourage anyone to pick it up. Have a laugh or a knowing nod of the head, and pass it on to a middle schooler that might need a little reinforcement that they are not the only ones out there being awkward, and it's perfectly fine to be so. Let me know if you have read this one!

Geek Lust

How could I not pick up a book that not only gets so close to my own blog's title, but is literally about the driving force behind everything I am interested in? I saw this on the Local Author shelf and that was just an even better reason to pick it up, because you guys know I love reading things written by people close by. So I picked it up and while I didn't absolutely love this book, it was fun to read.

Alex Langley binds together in these pages everything that makes a geek a geek. Covering everything from the original geeks, scientist that started things, to all the mediums that geeks revel in, including but not limited to books, shows, movies, podcasts, and games. While the book is divided in a pretty clear manor, moving from one subject to the next in a cohesive manor that ties it all together, Langley's lists and frequent content jumping does make this book a bit more chaotic to read than I would have liked.

But it was fun! I mean, a whole book listing the many reasons people mark me as weird, yeah I enjoyed seeing in print that there are whole groups that love the things I love. It was also a lot of fun to pick out which of the many names in each medium I have enjoyed over the years. Who doesn't love it when someone acknowledges their love of that one book series you thought you were alone in reading!

I had fun with this book and recommend it to anyone with the willingness to basically read a book of lists. After all, it helped me discover a lot more shows, books, and games I should be partaking in!

Would-Be Witch

This one was a just for fun when I should be reading others book that I saw while walking the shelves at the library. It's been sitting on the stack for a few weeks and finally yesterday I told myself I either pick it up and read it or take it back so I can focus of others. Well, I read it! In on day.

So, Tammy Jo is a small town Texan girl. At 23 she is a very popular pastry chef with sass and an ex husband that does not believe in the divorce paperwork. Oh, and she comes from a very long line of powerful witchy women. Only, she has no magic. At all. And now she has no job. And the locket that contains a dead ancestor's soul has been stolen. Chaos has descended on Tammy Jo's small town life and she is just trying to hold onto the bits.

I haven't read a book in this genre in a while now, it having been way longer than I would care to admit since I picked up a Kim Harrison book to enjoy. But for some reason I saw this one and it really caught my attention. And now I am so glad that I decided to read it before forcing myself to give it up as a lost cause. Because this was such a fun read and I am itching to pick up the next one.

Tammy Jo is a very sassy southern woman, which makes her instantly likable in my opinion. Throw in her magical heritage and the 2 gorgeous guys she has fawning over her, and she has a lot I wish I had. Plus an absolutely amazing cat! All of this makes the story very upbeat and fast paced as Tammy Jo tries to not only figure out what is going on but try to fix what little she can with her limited resources. Then you have broody warlocks that should be off limits, werewolves with their wires crossed, a very flamboyant but helpful vampire, all thrown into a town of muggles so oblivious it's dangerous. But it all works! Frost manages to fill the pages with these odds and ends wonderfully, inciting me to continue reading well into the night to try and figure out just what was going to happen to everyone!

Now, I am not saying this book was the best ever written. I really hope you don't pick it up expecting a masterpiece only to crash my comments in upset. No, this book was simply fun. I have no major complaints about it, none, because it is what it is without trying to be something better. It's a short, quirky supernatural romance with a very stubborn female lead who is caught between two wonderful men who have their faults. It was a quick fun read that was just good enough to get me to pick up the next one in hopes of more of the same. The characters were wonderfully balanced creations of good and bad so that I loved every one of them (except the werewolves obviously) and the story had just enough weight that it gave me a reason to keep turning the pages.

I really enjoyed it and hope you do to if you choose to pick it up! I look forward to the next one in the series!

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!

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!

Between Worlds

Finally I got around to reading this second novel in the Cemetery Tours series and my only regret is not getting to it sooner!

After Micheal Sinclair declared to the world that yes, he does in fact see ghosts, his friend Luke Reiner approaches him once more asking to join him on his show Cemetery Tours. This time, his presence is a stipulation one of the home owners has placed on their allowing the tv show to film there. Michael reluctantly agrees after Luke and Kate, Micheal's now girlfriend, team up against him. We join Michael, Luke, and Kate once more on a ghost hunt that gets out of hand as the crew learns more about the ghost haunting a home in Maine.

I loved getting to join the team once more for a wild and humorous ride. Jacqueline has a unique gift in building up the world of Michael Sinclair where he can talk to ghosts, Kate can sense them, and Luke likes to poke them with a stick. The banter between the characters, including Brink, Michael's ghostly roommate, really makes you laugh out loud at least a half dozen times. Also in this one is a tragic love story that focuses around the ghosts the team is trying to find evidence of, and the heartbreak leads to some pretty crazy moments for everyone.

Jacqueline also steps outside her zone and takes us to the stunningly beautiful Maine, describing an incredible home and a quaint town that made me wish I could take a trip up there while reading this one.

Of course I am going to recommend everyone read this second great novel from Smith. Specifically to those that took the chance in reading the first one. This was a great follow up novel and I am looking forward to the third one.

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!

Cemetery Tours

So I picked this book up at the library simply because it had a sticker on the side that said "local author." Well of course I was going to pick it up to help support someone nearby! Now I can't wait to be able to buy a copy of this book and her other ones to add to my bookshelf to really support her, because I really enjoyed this one! Meet Jacqueline E. Smith!

The story follows 2 main people: Michael, who incidentally can see dead people, and his new neighbor Kate, who moves into the cursed apartment next door and brings along one mean looking ghost. So, I know it sounds kinda cliche, of course he can see dead people so of course she has to be haunted. But the story is more than that. For one, Michael does nothing about the fact that he sees the dead. To the point that he goes out of his way to ignore and act normal when in the presence of ghosts so that they won't follow him home expecting things from him. Of course this doesn't always work because sometimes they do follow him home and now everyone in his apartment building believes it is cursed and the landlord can never keep tenants in the one right next to Michael. So for a brief afternoon as Michael helps the pretty new girl and her brother move in, he is all smiles because, well, he can't help himself around pretty new girl. Until he sees the very angry, very scary looking ghost glaring down Kate's brother Gavin, and so he turns tail and runs back to his own apartment.

But Michael can't stay away from Kate, he is drawn to her, for reasons outside the usual she is pretty and new and single, but you don't get to know about those 'till much later. He finds himself drawn into multiple ghost-related scenarios that he has been trying to avoid his whole life, and tries his best to help to not only impress the pretty neighbor girl, but also because he has realized that up until this point he has been a little selfish by not helping. Things, of course, get out of hand and twisted around because nothing is ever simple or straight forward. There are a couple of heartbreaking moments where you just want to hug some characters but you can't, because they are fictional, and ghosts mostly. And there is plenty of humor to have you laughing.

I thought this book was a breath of fresh air. The characters are people I know. Michael is selfish, just wants to be normal. Kate is fanatical about a TV show about ghost hunters and so fangirls when she meets the lead actor. Gavin is the protective big brother who ignores his own failing health because he can't stress his sister out. They are normal people who make you laugh, drive you crazy, make you roll your eyes, and draw you to them all at once. The book being based in Texas really helps for me, too. I love it that no one bats an eye at it taking them an hour and half to drive somewhere and it getting far too late in the evening in the process, because that's just what happens when you live in this big state. And of course the parents of these almost thirty year olds are so involved in their children's lives, making decisions for them, giving advise, still trying to parent even though their kids are grown, because that is just how we are in the South. I loved being able to relate to these characters!

The only drawback I feel the need to point out is that it take a little while for the plot to thicken. We find out plenty about the characters, what has happened to them, that they like one another, and it seems like most of the book goes by before any conflict arises aside from the "boy meets girl, boy likes girl, boy is too shy to ask girl out" bit. But it's necessary I think, after reading it. After all, the author is introducing you to this guy that she wants to follow for a few books. You need to have some background, some setting. Instead of cramming story, big events, the main plot into one book, this is the beginning. I think in book two will be more of the main climax of Michael's story, if the ending to this one is any indication. And there is still more than enough drama in this one to keep a reader satisfied with having read it and looking for more. Just, if you find it starting off a little slow, know that I did too, but if you keep going, I think it will really be worth the wait!

So pick this book up! Discover someone new with a lot of potential. And let me know what you think! Because I am headed to the library for the next one!