Review: What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen

Who is the real McLean? 

Since her parents' bitter divorce, McLean and her dad, a restaurant consultant, have been on the move-four towns in two years. Estranged from her mother and her mother's new family, McLean has followed her dad in leaving the unhappy past behind. And each new place gives her a chance to try out a new persona: from cheerleader to drama diva. But now, for the first time, McLean discovers a desire to stay in one place and just be herself, whoever that is. Perhaps Dave, the guy next door, can help her find out. 

Combining Sarah Dessen's trademark graceful writing, great characters, and compelling storytelling, What Happened to Goodbye is irresistible reading (GoodReads)


I read What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen during a chic-lit binge this past week. I can't lie, it was a fun rabbit hole to fall down. This was not my favorite of the lot, but its still engaging from page 1 and has some feel-good moments.
Originality: 3. This has after-school special written all over it. Self discovery, coming to terms with divorce, realizing your parents are people and wanting them to be happy--what is more cliche than that for teens?
Absurdity: 3. Luckily Dessen's style, esp. the little details, keep everything feeling grounded and authentic.
Level of Paranormal Romance: 2. I WANT MORE KISSING. Please and thank you.
Level of Harry-Potterness 4. To be honest, I had a hard time finishing this book. I saw most of the conclusion's plot points coming from a mile away. I think I like Dessen best when beaches and summer are involved!

Friday Library Updates: The Psychology of Abandonment- Thanks, Good Reads

Why do we abandon books? I have a hard time giving up on a book, and will usually skim to the end so I can know and move on with my life....apparently lots of us are doing it.   Slow plots, bad writing, annoying characters...why do you give up on books?   via 

And....this is awesome: 

"And while E. L. James’ infamous “Fifty Shades of Grey,” has topped bestseller lists around the world, it seems that the 70 million or so who went out to buy the book (and a blank dust jacket to hide their shame with) agreed with the one reader who announced: “I am embarrassed for all of us.”[emphasis added]

Review: Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

       

600 pages later, I completed Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness. Applause is appropriate here at the completion of this history tome of witch/vampire lore.


IT BEGAN WITH A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES. Historian Diana Bishop, descended from a line of powerful witches, and long-lived vampire Matthew Clairmont have broken the laws dividing creatures. When Diana discovered a significant alchemical manuscript in the Bodleian Library,she sparked a struggle in which she became bound to Matthew. Now the fragile coexistence of witches, daemons, vampires and humans is dangerously threatened.

Seeking safety, Diana and Matthew travel back in time to London, 1590. But they soon realise that the past may not provide a haven. Reclaiming his former identity as poet and spy for Queen Elizabeth, the vampire falls back in with a group of radicals known as the School of Night. Many are unruly daemons, the creative minds of the age, including playwright Christopher Marlowe and mathematician Thomas Harriot. Together Matthew and Diana scour Tudor London for the elusive manuscript Ashmole 782, and search for the witch who will teach Diana how to control her remarkable powers...(GoodReads).

I will be the first to admit that 1- this book is nutso, like 100% crazy, but also 100% impossible to put down.  I can't decide if the writing was good, but the continuation of the story kept the reader going and then just like last book- left us waiting for resolutions.

• Originality: 9.  For a sequel this may shock you but if you thought Discovery of Witches was nutty, GET READY.  Still, if you have not read the first book you are doomed to follow the plot in this one.
• Absurdity: 10.  We travel back in time to Michael's European escapades so Diana can learn to tame her magic.  Sounds simple enough but there is a wild range of vampires, court etiquette, ripped bodices, food, fashion, and famous personalities. NEVER MIND the millions of friends and secrets of Michael's that he keeps getting caught in.  Also, there is not enough discussion of their impacts on the future, lord knows they are creating a mess in history.
• Level of Paranormal Romance: 8.  Maybe I had just forgotten, but is there a lot of smoldering vampire/witch moments in here ( see previous mention of  ripped corsets).
• Level of Harry Potterness: 6. Ok, truth, I couldn't stop turning pages, but Diana, seriously, pull yourself together- you and Michael have the same fight over and over about keeping secrets, trusting each other, accepting each other's nature... blah blah blah.  Also, you are a foreigner in the past -stop being saucy to the royalty.  Editorial note: I can't even imagine the details that didn't make the editors cut.. sheesh.

Top Ten Tuesday: Authors who Deserve More Recognition

Hellllllllllllllllo Top Ten Tuesday people! Today we can only offer an abbreviated list of authors who we think deserve more kuddos and more readers.  We think this is a great topic though, since if people are listing authors today, then maybe there are awesome writers out there just waiting to be discovered by us, the ladies of Young Adult Fiction and Whiskey Sours! We look forward to your lists.

1. Lili St. Crow. How many times do I have to tell you to read the Strange Angels series!?!?
2. Rae Carson. Her Girl of Fire and Thorns series is epically well done.
3. In the US Grad Student has trouble even finding a copy of the later books in the Tomorrow, When the War Began series by John Marsden. In Australia everyone know about Marsden and this awesome series. This country need to get on board.
4. Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse books. People, there is more then just the HBO show!  Sookie deserves some more credit cause her character in the book is way better than the TV version.

As always, cheers to The Broke and the Bookish, the kick-ass hosts of TTT!  If you want to know more about these authors, see our posts on The Girl of Fire and Thorns and The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson, Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow,Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden and Deadlocked  and Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris.

Review: Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols

Oh Echols, I am officially a fan of your romances. I like the class issues, southern settings, and tough girls dealing with some hard situations coming into their own. I crushed Such a Rush.

When I was fourteen, I made a decision. If I was doomed to live in a trailer park next to an airport, I could complain about the smell of the jet fuel like my mom, I could drink myself to death over the noise like everybody else, or I could learn to fly.
Heaven Beach, South Carolina, is anything but, if you live at the low-rent end of town. All her life, Leah Jones has been the grown-up in her family, while her mother moves from boyfriend to boyfriend, letting any available money slip out of her hands. At school, they may diss Leah as trash, but she’s the one who negotiates with the landlord when the rent’s not paid. At fourteen, she’s the one who gets a job at the nearby airstrip.

But there’s one way Leah can escape reality. Saving every penny she can, she begs quiet Mr. Hall, who runs an aerial banner-advertising business at the airstrip and also offers flight lessons, to take her up just once. Leaving the trailer park far beneath her and swooping out over the sea is a rush greater than anything she’s ever experienced, and when Mr. Hall offers to give her cut-rate flight lessons, she feels ready to touch the sky.

By the time she’s a high school senior, Leah has become a good enough pilot that Mr. Hall offers her a job flying a banner plane. It seems like a dream come true . . . but turns out to be just as fleeting as any dream. Mr. Hall dies suddenly, leaving everything he owned in the hands of his teenage sons: golden boy Alec and adrenaline junkie Grayson. And they’re determined to keep the banner planes flying. Though Leah has crushed on Grayson for years, she’s leery of getting involved in what now seems like a doomed business—until Grayson betrays her by digging up her most damning secret. Holding it over her head, he forces her to fly for secret reasons of his own, reasons involving Alec. Now Leah finds herself drawn into a battle between brothers—and the consequences could be deadly (GoodReads).

(My ride in the sky- the plane, the view!)

Originality: 6. This time on the wrong side of the tracks in the beach town, a different POV from Sarah Dessen's beloved beach town books.  Plus points for all the cool stuff was all the pilot facts. Loved it! My friend has his pilot license and has taken me up before in a little prop plane-So amazing !

Absurdity: 4. How does Leah not know she's a babe!? Come on.
Level of Romance: 9. I mean, the tagline says "A sexy and poignant romantic tale of a young daredevil pilot caught between two brothers." Yum. 
Level of Harry Potterness: This book appears at first to be a full on beach read but with enough of an investigation of tough times and what it means to a teenage girl trying to find her way that it escapes the fluff category. Overall, a great balance.

Stacking the Shelves: The Golden Day and This Song Will Save Your Life

Haaapppppppppppppppy Saturday! Today's post is going to be short and sweet, because Goosie Mama and I are together at the beach and Must. Get. Tan. This week we have received two books for review. Thanks go to  Tygna's Reviews to for hosting Stacking the Shelves, highlighting the newest books on our shelves each week. What did you get?

Out in September is Leila Sales' This Song Will Save Your Life: A Novel.

Making friends has never been Elise Dembowski’s strong suit. All throughout her life, she’s been the butt of every joke and the outsider in every conversation. When a final attempt at popularity fails, Elise nearly gives up. Then she stumbles upon a warehouse party where she meets Vicky, a girl in a band who accepts her; Char, a cute, yet mysterious disc jockey; Pippa, a carefree spirit from England; and most importantly, a love for DJing.

Told in a refreshingly genuine and laugh-out-loud funny voice, THIS SONG WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE is an exuberant novel about identity, friendship, and the power of music to bring people together (GoodReads).

The second book is The Golden Day by Ursula Dubosarsky. This is going to be creepy and great, and I know it reminds me of some old movie....I will try to remember by the time I post a review. It is due out August 6th!

 When their teacher goes missing during an outing, eleven girls grapple with the aftermath in this haunting, exquisitely told psychological mystery.

The Vietnam War rages overseas, but back at home, in a year that begins with the hanging of one man and ends with the drowning of another, eleven schoolgirls embrace their own chilling history when their teacher abruptly goes missing on a field trip. Who was the mysterious poet they had met in the Garden? What actually happened in the seaside cave that day? And most important — who can they tell about it? In beautifully shimmering prose, Ursula Dubosarsky reveals how a single shared experience can alter the course of young lives forever. Part gripping thriller, part ethereal tale of innocence lost, The Golden Day is a poignant study of fear and friendship, and of what it takes to come of age with courage (GoodReads).

Review: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo was so good. I know you all know that, but heyo, better late than never. I have not read fantasy in a while and this was just what I needed to remind me why fantasy rocks.

The Shadow Fold, a swathe of impenetrable darkness, crawling with monsters that feast on human flesh, is slowly destroying the once-great nation of Ravka.

Alina, a pale, lonely orphan, discovers a unique power that thrusts her into the lavish world of the kingdom’s magical elite—the Grisha. Could she be the key to unravelling the dark fabric of the Shadow Fold and setting Ravka free?

The Darkling, a creature of seductive charm and terrifying power, leader of the Grisha. If Alina is to fulfill her destiny, she must discover how to unlock her gift and face up to her dangerous attraction to him.

But what of Mal, Alina’s childhood best friend? As Alina contemplates her dazzling new future, why can’t she ever quite forget him? Glorious. Epic. Irresistible. Romance (GoodReads).

• Originality: 8. This is fantasy working. The grisha world was great. The plot of girl (mousy, obvs) who is an orphan who  finds herself powerful and maybe the savior of the world is not at all new, but Bardugo's story telling is good enough that I don't care!On a better note- I want a friend with magic to be able to highlight my hair!
• Absurdity: 4. The world building is great. Enough that I wanted to learn more but not enough to have me rolling my eyes about political boundaries/intrigue in made-up places. I did give one mini eye roll for the made-up words. Why kvas? Why not liquor. Fantasy authors, I don't like this. Anyone else have thoughts? 
• Level of Paranormal Romance: 5. I like that right off the bat we know about the inconvenient crush Alina has on Mal. No spoilers here, but I guessed all of the romantic developments from the first 20 pages, -- but that doesn't meant I didn't enjoy the enfolding process. The romance doesn't dominate but its nice.
• Level of Harry Potterness: 7. I am happy I bought this in paperback because I can't wait to share it! On to the sequel!

Review: Blue Hearts of Mars by Nicole Grotepas

NetGalley allowed me to get my hands on Blue Heart of Mars by Nicole Grotepas, I was intrigued:

Seventeen-year-old Retta Heikkinen is in love with a boy--a thoroughly gorgeous, captivating, and mysterious boy known as Hemingway. The situation is rather ideal: he likes her, she likes him. There's just one little problem.

He's a blue heart, an android.

Being in a relationship is its own complicated mess, but how long can a forbidden love last? Soon Retta discovers a secret that could destroy the uneasy truce between the blue hearts and humans, which makes life under the domes on Mars possible. Would exposing what she knows make things better or worse? And how can she know for certain without exposing the secret?

Originality: 8- this is some future world building for sure, a new caste society of androids (cough cough robots) and high school girls who work at coffee shops.

Absurdity: 10- I could NOT follow all the huge emotional jumps these characters made. Without giving anything away, I repeatedly rolled my eyes at this high school couple and their brash actions.  I sound like a parent.  But really, I sorta feel like this book made Bella and Edward's relationship seem more normal.

Level of Paranormal Romance: 8- kinda a given with the 'droid thing.  Poor Hemingway, not only does he have a crazy name, but life is rough for astonishingly handsome androids on Mars. Lucky he finds Retta to go off the map with in romance.  Too. Much.

Level of Harry Potter-ness: 4- while the concept was really cool and the world the characters were in great, Retta herself was a huge problem for me.  She is supposed to be in love with the soul of Hemingway or something, but every page we get reminded of how handsome and buff Hemingway is, totally undermining the whole insta-soul love major plot of the book.  Also, there is not enough build up for this couple, they just launch themselves into this relationship and the reader never gets to feel the build, which sorta feels like robbery.

FTC Full Disclosure: I received a review copy from Nicole Grotepas via NetGalley. Happy reading followed. (We do not accept or receive compensation for reviews at YAF and WS.)

Waiting on Wednesday: Perfect Ruin by Lauren DeStefano

       

 The first in a new series, Perfect Ruin by Lauren DeStefano is making the rounds on the book blogs and I can see why. This looks (hey pretty cover) and sounds amazing. I am joining the bandwagon this week for Waiting on Wednesday.

On Internment, the floating island in the clouds where 16-year-old Morgan Stockhour lives, getting too close to the edge can lead to madness. Even though Morgan's older brother, Lex, was a Jumper, Morgan vows never to end up like him. She tries her best not to mind that her life is orderly and boring, and if she ever wonders about the ground, and why it is forbidden, she takes solace in best friend Pen and her betrothed, Basil.
Then a murder, the first in a generation, rocks the city. With whispers swirling and fear on the wind, Morgan can no longer stop herself from investigating, especially when she meets Judas. He is the boy being blamed for the murder — betrothed to the victim — but Morgan is convinced of his innocence. Secrets lay at the heart of Internment, but nothing can prepare Morgan for what she will find — or who she will lose. (GoodReads).

Thanks to Jill at Breaking the Spine for hosting WoW, a weekly meme that showcases upcoming publications we are looking forward to. What made your WoW this week?

Top Ten Tuesday: Book to Movie Adaptations-- The Good, the Bad

       

The Life of Pi

Happy Tuesday! Happy Top Ten Tuesday! Happy list making! Today's TTT, hosted by the always fabulous The Broke and the Bookish, is a fun one: the best and worst movie adaptations of books. We had fun with this one. What made your best list? We want to know before our next Redbox visit. :-)

Grad Student:

WORST 

• Golden Compass (Crazy Camper agrees)



Even NK being glam can't
 save  this movie

• Jack Reacher (it just fell flat)

BEST

• The Life of Pi (those colors! gorgeous!) 
• The Kiera Knightly Pride and Prejudice. Love or hate her as Lizzie, you cannot deny that score. It is beyond lush and romantic (Crazy Camper says "Hate Kiera Knightly. Will always love this movie.")  

Crazy Camper:

WORST 

• The Hobbit- they took a great book and made it mind-numbingly tedious.  There is only so many times Gandalf can whisper to a moth for eagles to arrive and save the day...nevermind, we have two more parts to sit through.

BEST

• The Perks of Being a Wallflower- I thought this was an amazing adaptation.  
• All of the Harry Potter movies- all of them, were just the best book to movie transformation ever. (Goosie Mama concurs: "Harry Potter obviously just wins everything - they were all so amazing!")

Goosie Mama:

BEST

• LOVED Perks of Being a Wallflower - amazing and that kid who plays the lead makes my heart flutter!
• I really liked Warm Bodies! ( PS. So did I, GS. And that soundtrack is killllllller).

WORST

• The last 4 Twilight movies ... But then again they didn't have much to work with in terms of material. (Crazy Camper didnt even realize there were that many... and she read the books)