What Does Summer Even Have to Do With This?

Expected Publication:  March 1st, 2014

The Summer I Found You

By: Jolene Perry

Albert Whitman & Company

ISBN-13:  9780807583692

 

All they have in common is that they're less than perfect.  And all they're looking for is the perfect distraction.

 

Kate's dream boyfriend just broke up with her and she's still reeling from her diagnosis of type 1 diabetes.  Aidan planned on being a lifer in the army and went to Afghanistan straight out of high school.  Now he's a disabled young veteran struggling to embrace his new life.  When Kate and Aidan find each other neither one wants to get attached.  But could they be right for each other after all?

 

Review

 

     I have never read a book by Jolene Perry before and the cover on this one was absolutely gorgeous.  As such I should have known better, but it's not the first time I've been falsely drawn in by beautiful cover art (I'm sure it won't be the last either).  Plus, the synopsis sounded like it would be along the lines of one of my fave teen novels of the last couple years, Something Like Normal by Trish Doller.  Yeah, I didn't get that lucky AT ALL.  I didn't really mind it so much when Perry was in Aidan's POV, because as much as he was being an asshole with major issues, he was still trying to deal with his issues.  Kate's solution to everything is to ignore it and hope it goes away.  Whereas Aidan is learning to adjust to life without his arm, Kate is learning how to eat as unsafely as possible without passing out, or being sent to the hospital.  And also how to hide her disease from the rest of the world, even when it puts her in danger.

    Don't get me wrong, even with the questionable continuity errors in the spelling of Aidan/Aiden's name, the truly horrible lack of punctuation (my senior year, high school English teacher Mrs. Martin would be at turns amused and horrified by it - want a great example, look at the synopsis i.e. disaster) or the fact that both Aidan and Kate come across as smug, generic assholes who only care about themselves, there was something that redeemed it for me slightly.  That something was the interactions between Kate and Aidan, in their snarky, teenage glory.  Probably some of the best parts of the book.  At least until Kate ruined that too, by hiding her diabetes from Aidan and almost dying because she went into insulin shock and Aidan had no clue what was happening!!!  Also, she spends her time afterwards pouting and trying to manipulate him into not being mad at her/breaking up with her, by utilizing her "poor me" shtick.  It threw any redeeming facet of her character down the toilet for me.  The fact that Aidan took her back, even with how atrociously she treated him, made me pity his lack of self-respect.  Kate does a 180 at the end of the book.  Not because she doesn't want to DIE OR SOMETHING, but (mostly) because she doesn't want to lose her new boyfriend!  WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK???!!!  Oh and on another unrelated note, what does summer have to do with this book?  NOTHING.  It all happens during the school year, Kate and her best friend Jen's (Aidan's cousin) senior year to be precise.

     Due to the fact that Kate's immature behavior was probably somewhat realistic, I liked the development of Aidan's character, and the humorous bits I give this a two star rating.  She spends the entire book pining after some utter douchebag who at the end she still considers a 'good friend' - even though he treats Kate like complete shit.  Overall though, I wouldn't recommend it unless you're a fan of books where you spend the whole time you're reading wishing you could reach in and bitch-slap the main characters!  Not the book for me quite obviously.  Which is unfortunate, as I really went in wanting to enjoy it.

 

VERDICT:  2/5  Stars

 

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, Albert Whitman & Company, via NetGalley.  No money or favors were exchanged for this review.  This book's expected publication date is March 1st, 2014.*

More Than Normal...

Expected Publication: June 19th, 2012

Something Like Normal

By: Trish Doller

Bloomsbury USA Children's 

ISBN-13: 9781599908441

When Travis returns home from a stint in Afghanistan, his parents are splitting up, his brother’s stolen his girlfriend and his car, and he’s haunted by nightmares of his best friend’s death. It’s not until Travis runs into Harper, a girl he’s had a rocky relationship with since middle school, that life actually starts looking up. And as he and Harper see more of each other, he begins to pick his way through the minefield of family problems and post-traumatic stress to the possibility of a life that might resemble normal again. Travis’s dry sense of humor, and incredible sense of honor, make him an irresistible and eminently lovable hero.

Review

   Travis comes home from Afghanistan on leave broken and completely messed up.  His new reality at home isn't so awesome either - his Mom and Dad are on the verge of divorce (because his Dad is cheating), his brother has stolen his car AND his girlfriend, plus he can no longer relate to the friends he left behind.  Oh, not to mention the fact that Travis is having hallucinations and nightmares about his best friend Charlie, who died in Afghanistan.  By chance Travis meets up with Harper, a girl whose reputation he ruined in the 9th grade.  At first she wants nothing to do with him, but he manages to find a place in her life in the end.  Harper ends up being exactly what Travis needed, especially now that Charlie's memorial is drawing closer and he'll have to face exactly how his friend died over there.  Travis also has to deal with fact of 3 more years on active duty.  Can he pull it together and begin to heal, or will he be lost in his pain?  This book isn't normally something that I would read.  I can't normally deal with guy narrators or the stories they tell - Travis was a major exception.  This book was so real that Travis, Charlie, and their friends could have been your brother, boyfriend or best friend.  It was scary to contemplate.  The romance was whirlwind but believable and not insta-love by any means at all.  Charlie became a person to me over the course of the novel and by the end his death had my heart breaking in pieces.  The portrayl of PTSD was very un-romaticized and the language Doller used to describe it had me uncomfortable - which is an indication of how good it was.  Also, Travis is a very real person who makes some pretty bad mistakes.  He isn't some perfect romantic, hometown hero.  All of the plot felt so real-world in that sense.  This was a wonderful book, gritty and realistic enough to get deep into my soul.  I will definitely be buying this one in hardcover when it is released and I highly recommend it.

VERDICT:  5/5  Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication date is June 19th, 2012.*