Jazz Is All That's Between Your Ears

Published:  October 22nd, 2014

Jazz Baby

By: Tea Cooper

Escape Publishing

ISBN-13: 9780857991928

Sydney is no place for the fainthearted -- five shillings for a twist of snow, a woman for not much more, and a bullet if you look sideways at the wrong person.

Dolly Bowman is ready and willing to take on the brash, bustling city has to offer.  After all it is the 1920s, a time for a girl to become a woman and fulfil her dreams.  Turning her back on her childhood, she takes up a position working as a housemaid while she searches for her future.

World War I flying ace Jack Dalton knows he's luckier than most.  He's survived the war with barely a scratch, a couple of astute business decisions have paid off, and he's set for the high life.

But a glimpse of a girl that he had forgotten, from a place he's trying to escape suddenly set all his plans awry.  Try as he might he can't shake the past, and money isn't enough to pay the debts he's incurred.

Review

       I do not normally branch out past the USA for my contemporary authors (classics are a different story), but occasionally I'll find myself testing out an Australian, Canadian or British author because the book synopsis appeals to me too much to ignore.  This was one such case.  I know next to nothing about Australia in the 1920s Jazz Era, but I've loved learning about America during that time.  This book promises a strong, independent heroine and a somewhat emotionally scarred hero with a past romantic connection (at least it alludes to it in the blurb I read).  How can you loose with a brash, ex-WWI pilot and a gutsy jazz singer falling in love?  Well, apparently it's a possible outcome as I found out from this particular read.

       Dolly IS NOT who the blurb makes her out to be.  She only left home so she wouldn't have to get married, as that's all that was left for her at home after her father died and her brother never came home from the War.  She is timid, lets people talk to her like she's a doormat and is extremely naive about the real world.  Upon getting a job at a "boardinghouse" it takes her almost two days to realize that it's really a high-class brothel!!!  She spends a lot of time fighting the fact that the Madam of the house wants her to sing for entertainment and at first has almost crippling stage fright.  Jack Dalton is the boy next door, who served in the Air Corps with her brother, Ted, who was killed in action.  He sees Dolly at the brothel in Sydney and immediately tries to control her life on behalf of her dead brother.  He tells himself it's out of guilt, because he was unable to save Ted.  But he spends an awful lot of time staring at Dolly, basically drooling over her, for that to be true.

       There are a lot of plot "twists" in this short romance, each of them more eye-rollingly predictable than the last one.  Who the owner of the "boardinghouse" actually is, the identity of the mysterious boxer that Jack runs into, whether or not Cynthia (Jack's prostitute friend and occasional bed-mate from what I understood) could manage to keep Jack and Dolly apart.  It ended the way I thought it would and fact of how short it is and just how much is supposed to have happened in only a couple of days, is another thing that makes me unable to suspend my disbelief.  Plus, there is a whole thing at the end with another madam and some drug runners that is caused by Dolly's absolute inability to think that was ridiculous.

VERDICT:  1/5 Stars (Only because I finished it and it was pretty readable)

*I  received this book from Escape Publishing, on NetGalley.  No favors or money were exchanged for this review.  The expected publication date is October 22nd, 2014.*

Tinseltown: Murder, Morphine, and Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood

Published:  October 14th, 2014
Tinseltown: Murder, Morphine, and Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood
By: William J. Mann
Harper Collins
ISBN-13:  9780062242167

By the 1920s, the movies had suddenly become America's new favorite pastime, and one of the nation's largest industries.  Never before had a medium posessed such power to influence.  Yet Hollywood's glittering ascendency was threatened by a string of headline-grabbing tragedies -- including the murder of William Desmond Taylor, the popular president of the Motion Picture Director's Association, a legendary crime that has remained unsolved until now.

In a fiendishly involving narrative, bestselling Hollywood chronicler William J. Mann draws on a rich host of sources, including recently released FBI files, to unpack the story of the enigmatic Taylor and the diverse cast that surrounded him -- including three beautiful, ambitious actresses; a grasping stage mother; a devoted valet; and a gang of two-bit thugs, any of whom might have fired the fatal bullet.  And overseeing this entire landscape of intrigue was Adolph Zukor, the brilliant and ruthless founder of Paramount, locked in a struggle for control of the industry and desperate to conceal the truth about the crime.  Along the way, Mann brings to life Los Angeles in the Roaring Twenties: a sparkling yet schizophrenic town filled with party girls, drug dealers, religious zealots, newly-minted legends and starlets already past their prime -- a dangerous place where the powerful could run afoul of the desperate.

A true story recreated with the suspense of a novel, Tinseltown is the work of a storyteller at the peak of his powers -- and the solution to a crime that has stumped detectives and historians for nearly a century.

Review

       As someone who loves film history, and has more than a passing interest in the Silent Film Era, some of the names in this book weren't unfamiliar to me (Adolph Zukor, Mabel Normand, Marcus Loew, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Will Hays) - others I had never heard of until this book (William Desmond Taylor, Mary Miles Minter, Margaret "Gibby" Gibson).  Considering I had never even heard of this murder/scandal except in passing when watching Kevin Brownlow's excellent documentary, "Hollywood: Pioneers," it sounded fascinating to me personally.  It reads just like I want my non-fiction to: like a novel instead of a textbook.  The scene is well set, with Mann traveling sixteen months back in time, to the events preceding the murder in the lives of those involved, and the other major players in Hollywood either affected by scandal (movie stars) or trying to avoid it (moguls).  There is some especially interesting stuff about the pursuits of Adolph Zukor, the co-head of Famous Players-Lasky who eventually founded Paramount Pictures, to monopolize the profits of the industry.  The view into the "boy's club" of the moguls, who were in competition often and didn't even like each other really, and the way they banded together against the censorship of the women's church groups and temperance unions was especially interesting to read about.  The power plays to avoid the collapse of the movies based on censorship (and their considerable fortunes) eventually led to the moguls hiring government official Will Hays to be the voice of morality in the movies (really their way of circumventing the govt. actually)! 

     The chain of events leading to the murder leaves us with a few scenarios.  Did teenaged actress Mary Miles Minter, practically delusional in her affections, kill Taylor?  Or was it her raging stage mother, Charlotte Shelby, who had threatened Taylor on a few occasions, and who was known to become violently angry?  Also in the pool of suspects, a former valet who had played fast and loose with Taylor's property and knew some of his secrets (including a secret family and possible male lover), another actress Mabel Normand (although not so much her as her former cocaine dealers), and Margaret "Gibby" Gibson, a former colleague of Taylor's who had fallen on hard times after an arrest in a brothel ruined her career, and in with a group of low-life, petty "bunco" thieves.  We are given plenty of background on everyone, their interactions with Taylor, the evidence the police were going on, and all of them had reasons to committ the murder.  But the investigation was doomed from the start.  Before the house was even declared a crime scene, the body had been moved around, studio people had stolen all of Taylor's personal papers from upstairs and the D.A., a possible lover of Shelby's, protected her & Mary from questioning, tampered with the evidence in lockup (lots of it disappearing).  Shelby's mother disposed of her gun, possibly a murder weapon, before the police could get ahold of it.  None of the people in this book led happy lives, most of them being semi-tragic to completely tragic figures of film history.

       I will not spoil the conclusion that Mann comes to, suffice it to say that I think it is kind of a convenient leap, but at the same time it makes sense.  Also, the deathbed "confession" would make no sense as a false one.  The person had absolutely NOTHING to gain from it at that point in time!  All the connections are there, whereas the evidence for the popular favorite suspect doesn't quite add up the way it should, if it were the correct answer to the question (at least the way the evidence is presented).  I will agree with other readers that the over-stressing of Zukor's short stature, megalomania, and absolute base lack of any human emotion (according to Mann anyway, from what I can tell) did get overused and annoying.  It did diminish my enjoyment of the narrative at several points.  It became redundant.  Althought the juxtaposition of Zukor with his rival Loew, and even Will Hays when it came to dealing with the scandals, Arbuckle's ongoing trials especially, was an intriguing piece of psychology.  I also think that Desmond Taylor could have been more fleshed out, even if that meant sacrificing some of the side-narrative.  I didn't feel like I really knew him, even by the time the end of the book rolled around.  All in all, a highly enjoyable read that will not necessarily leave you with the answers promised in the blurb.  But I had such a darn interesting time I didn't really care.  Besides with all the tampering and how many years have passed, it's probably unsolvable at this point, at least with true evidentiary certainty of any kind.  On a side note, now I want to read more from Mann and at least one biography on Mabel Normand and one on Fatty Arbuckle!  I also need to get ahold of a non-review copy of this to look at the pictures!  Recommended for fellow lovers of true crime and the REAL Old Hollywood (before the talkies).  :D

VERDICT:  4/5  Stars

*I  received this book from Harper Collins, on Edelweiss.  No favors or money were exchanged for this review.  This book was published on October 14th, 2014.*

Selling Hell To a Bishop

Expected Publication:  September 16th, 2014

Sway

By: Kat Spears

St. Martin's Griffin

ISBN-13:  9781250051431

In Kat Spears' hilarious and often poignant debut, high school senior Jesse Alderman, or "Sway," as he's known, could sell hell to a bishop.  He also specializes in getting things people want -- term papers, a date with the prom queen, fake IDs.  He has few close friends and he never EVER lets emotions get in the way.  For Jesse, life is simply a series of business transactions.

But when Ken Foster, captain of the football team, leading candidate for homecoming King, and all-around jerk, and hires Jesse to help him win the heart of the angelic Bridget Smalley, Jesse finds himself feeling all sorts of things.  While following Bridget and learning the intimate details of her life, he falls helplessly in love for the first time.  He also finds himself in an accidental friendship with Bridget's belligerent and self-pitying younger brother who has cerebral palsy.  Suddenly, Jesse is visiting old folks at a nursing home in order to run into Bridget, and offering his time to help the less fortunate, all the while developing a bond with this young man who idolizes him.  Could the tin man really have a heart after all?

Review

     So, this book turned around my reading slump in the best of ways.  I feel like there has been very little amazing contemporary romance/whatever in my reading so far this year.  I actually picked this up expecting absolutely nothing, and the description of this as yet another Cyrano De Bergerac knock-off did nothing to interest me.  I got this through the tour site I'm part of on a fleeting whim.  Boy am I ever glad that I did!  This one is told in first-person, by the main character Jesse, whose sense of humor and choice of language leave a lot to be desired.  Not to mention the less than legal activities he is most well known for among the other kids at his school - even the adults come to him asking for favors!  The overall tone and balance of emotion and humor reminded me of two of my favorite contemporary reads of last year, Cherry Money Baby and Firecracker.

     Jesse "Sway" Alderson is the go-to guy for anything you want: drugs, exam papers, favors of an indeterminate nature and whatever else you want - for a price.  So when Ken Foster, the moronic asshole captain of the football team, comes to Jesse asking for help with getting the saintly Bridget Smalley as his girlfriend, Jesse agrees to do it.  But following Bridget around and getting to know her causes Jesse to grow a conscience and fall in love.  How can he let Bridget be with Ken, knowing the whole thing is a lie?  And what effect will all the deceit, growing feelings and new friendships out of random circumstance have on the rest of his life?  Can Sway make things right, or will Jesse be stuck cleaning up the biggest mess he's ever made?

     Jesse doesn't care to censor himself.  He just says whatever pops into his head first, consequences be damned, and I truly admire that!  There are a lot of people in his life: his gothy and sarcastic best friend Joey, his distant alcoholic father, Carter from the football team, a drug dealer named Digger, truly scary supplier Skinhead Rob, and his ex-girlfriend Heather.  But he never really connects to anyone until he meets cranky Mr. Dunkleman at the old folk's home and uses him as his pretend grandfather.  Another nail in the coffin was the shine he takes to Bridget's kid brother Pete, always calling him on his shit and never treating him as disabled because of his condition.  He calls Pete retarded to his face!  The romance in this was sweet, but this book was more about self-realization than anything.  What can we do to fix things, when we realize that our entire life is built around a philosophy that could cause us to lose the one thing we actually want?  Another big part of this book is Jesse coming to terms with living again after his mother's death by way of pill overdose.  He doesn't know whether to feel everything or nothing at all.  I loved that the ending isn't wrapped in a neat little bow, with every loose thread tied up.  We never do see whether Pete and Jesse get close again after their blowout.  Or the fallout of Skinhead Rob's ultimatum.  The open-endedness was nice for a change though.  A lot more like real life!  I absolutely love this book and if you want to be an emotional yo-yo, you should just pick it up already!

Favorite Quotes:

"Why do you call him that?" Pete asked.  "Sway?"

"Because he is sway," Carter said simply.  Pete looked at me but I just shook my head and turned to stare out the plate glass window at the deserted main street.

"But what does it mean?" Pete asked.

"You never heard of sway?" Carter asked, baffled by Pete's question.  "No."

Carter shrugged.  "Sway ain't somethin' you can define.  A brother who's got sway is the man -- don't have to try to be cool, just ...is.  Jesse's as cool as the underside of my pillow.  He's so slick, he could convince you that I'm white, have you believin' it like it's gospel."  

Carter turned his attention to me as he said, "I thought you were ed-you-catin' this boy."

In the haze between consciousness and oblivion I mumbled crazy shit and started to shake with the cold.  Joey covered me with a blanket, then curled up on her narrow bed beside me and held me close as she stroked my hair.  Carter sat behind the bend in my legs and they warmed me with the heat from their bodies.

"I wanted to die," I said into my chest, my voice a grunt as I jerked with another shudder of cold.  "I want to die."

"I know," Joey said, and shushed me and kissed me on the forehead.  "I know.  But you can't die.  If you die, I'll be all alone."

"Shit," Carter said, and I felt him start to shake with quiet sobs as I drifted into the black.

Neutral Milk Hotel's "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea" drifted through the air from Joey's iPod, and I remember thinking how appropriate it would be to die listening to that song.

VERDICT:  5/5  Stars

*I received this book as part of Around the World ARC Tours, run by the lovely Princess Bookie.  No favors or money were exchanged for this review.  This book's expected publication date is September 16th, 2014.*

One of These Nights

Published:  October 22, 2013

Last Night At The Viper Room: River Phoenix and the Hollywood He Left Behind

By: Gavin Edwards

It Books

ISBN-13:  9780062273154

Hollywood was built on beautiful and complicated matinee idols: James Dean and Marlon Brando are classic examples, but in the 1990s, the actor who embodied that archetype was River Phoenix. As the brightly colored 1980s wound down, a new crew of leading men began to appear on movie screens. Hailed for their acting prowess and admired for choosing meaty roles, actors such as Johnny Depp, Nicolas Cage, Keanu Reeves, and Brad Pitt were soon rocketing toward stardom while an unknown Leonardo DiCaprio prepared to make his acting debut. River Phoenix, however, stood in front of the pack. Blessed with natural talent and fueled by integrity, Phoenix was admired by his peers and adored by his fans. More than just a pinup on teenage girls' walls, Phoenix was also a fervent defender of the environment and a vocal proponent of a vegan lifestyle--well on his way to becoming a symbol of his generation. At age eighteen, he received his first Oscar nomination. But behind his beautiful public face, there was a young man who had been raised in a cult by nonconformist parents, who was burdened with supporting his family from a young age, and who eventually succumbed to addiction, escaping into a maelstrom of drink and drugs.

And then he was gone. After a dozen films, including Stand by Me and My Own Private Idaho, and with a seemingly limitless future, River Phoenix died of a drug overdose. He was twenty-three years old.

In Last Night at the Viper Room, bestselling author and journalist Gavin Edwards toggles between the tragic events at the Viper Room in West Hollywood on Halloween 1993 and the story of an extraordinary life. Last Night at the Viper Room is part biography, part cultural history of the 1990s, and part celebration of River Phoenix, a Hollywood icon gone too soon. Full of interviews from his fellow actors, directors, friends, and family, Last Night at the Viper Room shows the role he played in creating the place of the actor in our modern culture and the impact his work still makes today.

Review

     I honestly can't say I was a fan of River when he was still alive - mostly because I was only three years old when he overdosed.  But no matter if you follow someone's career in real time or after the fact, there are some artists, actors, musicians, writers, etc. that just managed to captivate you no matter what.  The first time I saw River Phoenix was at the age of eleven when I saw Stand By Me.  His performance (the whole movie, really) was so entirely honest that I was hooked on watching him.  The air of mystery that shrouded him has only intrigued me even more as an adult.  So when I saw that there was going to be a biography published about him, I knew I absolutely had to read it.  I had to learn more about River than the almost tangible nothing that I already 'knew.'

     Gavin Edwards manages to do something extremely interesting with this book.  He strikes a very nearly perfect balance of pop culture biography and personal biography.  This book is just as much about River and his troubled youth/death as it also manages to be about his entire generation of fellow actors.  Edwards gives us interesting facts about the ways River not dying would have affected the movie industry.  Young Leonardo DiCaprio wouldn't have been in Basketball Diaries or The Man In The Iron Mask.  Christian Slater wouldn't have been the interviewer in Interview With a Vampire.  Would his brother Joaquin still be as famous as he is today?  There are definitely some interesting what-ifs that this book presents to the readers.

     All of the information about River's nomadic childhood, the sexual abuse he suffered and how he was the family's sole means of support for quite some time was heartbreaking.  Add in the slow decline of becoming addicted to drugs, self-sabotage and unhappiness and things become that much worse.  Edwards managed to describe the drug abuse without in any way AT ALL romanticizing it and actually managed to make reading about it cause me to feel sick to my stomach.  The interviews with friends, family, girlfriends and even just people who barely knew who he was (like Johnny Depp, who only saw him at the club the night of the overdose) all lend to the bigger picture of the book, but also give us detailed information about River himself.  We got to learn about his vegan lifestyle, the awkwardness of who he was in general.  River wasn't even sure if he wanted to act anymore, actually being more interested in a band that he formed with some friends and one of his sisters, called Aleka's Attic.  He was also good friends with lots of musicians (including Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers).  This read very personal, almost like a story instead of straight, cold hard non-fiction.  I was happy about that, because it's how I prefer my biographies/autobiographies to read.  I like feeling like I'm being told something with some feeling behind it.

      Overall, this book gives us as readers a good window into the life of one interesting young man, full of potential that was wasted by an early death.  Also, it gives us insight into an entire generation of young Hollywood and the way it developed into what we're familiar with today.  I did like that while River's drug abuse/addiction wasn't romanticized it also wasn't the book's focus.  Instead we got to focus on the life leading up to it and the fact that no one even knew he was in that downward spiral.  I will always wonder 'what if' he had lived, grown older and made more movies.  What would he look like, what career choices would he have made?  Obscurity, TV Star or film, movies or music?  I guess we'll never really know.

VERDICT:  4.5/5  Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, and imprint of Harper Collins, via Edelweiss.  No money or favors were exchanged for this review.  This book was published October 22nd, 2013.*

If You Find Me, Save Me

Published:  March 26th, 2013
If You Find Me
By: Emily Murdoch
St. Martin's Griffin
ISBN-13:  9781250021526

There are some things you can’t leave behind…
A broken-down camper hidden deep in a national forest is the only home fifteen year-old Carey can remember. The trees keep guard over her threadbare existence, with the one bright spot being Carey’s younger sister, Jenessa, who depends on Carey for her very survival. All they have is each other, as their mentally ill mother comes and goes with greater frequency. Until that one fateful day their mother disappears for good, and two strangers arrive. Suddenly, the girls are taken from the woods and thrust into a bright and perplexing new world of high school, clothes and boys.

Now, Carey must face the truth of why her mother abducted her ten years ago, while haunted by a past that won’t let her go… a dark past that hides many a secret, including the reason Jenessa hasn’t spoken a word in over a year. Carey knows she must keep her sister close, and her secrets even closer, or risk watching her new life come crashing down.

Review

 

     Carey and her sister Jenessa have been living with their Mother for as long as they can remember, in a camper deep in the woods of a National Park.  They have been neglected and abused, with Carey taking care of Jenessa mostly by herself.  Than one day after their Mother has been gone for longer than ever before, a social worker and Carey's long lost Father come to get them.  Carey and Jenessa are taken home with Carey's Dad and brought back into a confusing, new world full of things they don't understand.  Both girls are forced to adjust to public school and normal life with their new Dad, Stepmom Melissa and jealous, angry stepsister Delany.  But they are holding onto a secret that is causing them both pain and suffering, and has made Jenessa completely silent with it's harshness.  Can they trust someone enough to let go of their old life and tell their heartbreaking secret? 

     This book absolutely broke my heart to pieces.  Carey is only fifteen but has spent the last ten years living with her volatile, mentally unstable Mother and caring for her younger sister pretty much like her own child.  The girls are both malnourished, socially ignorant and Carey has viewed her years of abuse as something that's just a fact of life.  Watching Carey and Jenessa, who refuses to speak, try to understand and become part of the world around them is devastating.  They have to get used to normal food after a unrelenting diet of beans, a family after only having each other and Carey especially has to face up to how the abuse of her Mom and a stream of others has changed her in unavoidable ways.  My main complaint would be the ugly behavior of their new stepsister Delaney, who takes to Jenessa but immediately hates Carey and does everything she can to make her life difficult.  Another thing that bothered me was the switch from friendship with Ryan, to romance.  I felt like it didn't really fit with the story and was awkward for me as a reader (especially the scene where they interact at Carey's first-ever party).  Just felt out of place in a story where the main focus is abuse, neglect, and trying to get past it.  I loved Carey's friend Pixie, who has skipped a (couple) grades and feels out place.  She has such a gigantic personality and becomes a person for Carey to hang onto when things get confusing or a little rough. 

     Carey's dialect was well-represented in the writing and I loved the fact that she eventually picked up her violin again, not letting all the bad things take away something beautiful from her for good.  The constant way everyone is always telling Carey how 'beautiful' she is had me rolling my eyes and sighing.  Why was that in any way necessary?  Yeah, she's such a special person and has done some extraordinary things in the name of survival.  So why the focus on her looks?  That did irk me more than a little bit.  But the transitions that Carey and Jenessa went through while trying to adjust were very realistic and well written.  I didn't quite entirely guess what the big secret was but I had an idea and I wasn't really that far off.  It didn't make it any less horrifying, but it wasn't as shocking as it could have been.  I felt like the clues throughout the novel were definitely less than subtle.  I liked the ending and overall it was a beautiful and haunting book that I'd recommend without hesitation!

 

VERDICT:  4.5/5  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 was published March 26th, 2013.*

Fall From Your Tower, See If I Care

Expected Publication:  May 14th, 2013
Towering (Kendra Chronicles # 3)
By: Alex Flinn
HarperTeen
ISBN-13:  9780062024176

At first, I merely saw his face, his hands on the window ledge. Then, his whole body as he swung himself through the window. Only I could not see what he swung on.
Until, one day, I told my dream self to look down. And it was then that I saw. He had climbed on a rope. I knew without asking that the rope had been one of my own tying.

Rachel is trapped in a tower, held hostage by a woman she’s always called Mama. Her golden hair is growing rapidly, and to pass the time, she watches the snow fall and sings songs from her childhood, hoping someone, anyone, will hear her.

Wyatt needs time to reflect or, better yet, forget about what happened to his best friend, Tyler. That’s why he’s been shipped off to the Adirondacks in the dead of winter to live with the oldest lady in town. Either that, or no one he knows ever wants to see him again.

Dani disappeared seventeen years ago without a trace, but she left behind a journal that’s never been read, not even by her overbearing mother…until now.

Review

 

     Just a disclaimer: It used to be that whenever Alex Flinn wrote a book, I absolutely loved it because it was well-written, original and an overall great read.  Lately, this seems to no longer be the case.  I was excited about this one because I love anything to do with Rapunzel and was interested to see how the author would modernize it.  I should have known that with the Kendra Chronicles label slapped on it (even though it has NOTHING TO DO WITH KENDRA.  LIKE AT ALL!) that this book wasn't a good usage of my time.  The alternating points of view were jarring and made the plot (what little of it there was) drag itself out even further than it ever should have.  Rachel literally had no interesting thoughts and Wyatt was all 'woe is me' for the entirety of the book - even after he falls into insta-love with Rachel.  Speaking of which, I'm sorry but it was stupidity not romance that led them to declare their love after barely even knowing each other's names.  That sort of thing makes me sick to my stomach.  Rapunzel's tears have healing powers?  She's the savior to people enslaved by these evil brothers using them to farm this addictive, LSD drug leaf?  WTF???!!!  I definitely wasn't expecting a plot twist like that one!  The inter-connected subplot with Danielle's disappearance and the identity of Rachel's dead Mother and the "Mama" who keeps her locked up was insultingly obvious and made me roll my eyes in more than one instance.  Yes, the author managed to make Rachel's voice and actions authentic to her way of life (no knowledge of the modern world and only dead authors for company) and I did like that she doesn't just blindly follow "Mama", even before Wyatt comes along to 'rescue' her.  The thought of the tower existing and no one other than Wyatt finding it seemed overly far-fetched to me as a reader.  Maybe i'm just hypercritical, but I really did want to love this book.  And other than some nice prose passages, I could honestly take it or leave it (with the emphasis on leaving it).  When the drug plot popped up, this book went bat-shit insane in my opinion and for some it may be in a good way, but not for me.  I don't think that after this I'll be reading anymore fairy tales by Alex Flinn.  I don't think my heart could take four disappointing books in a row.  Maybe for a younger audience who could suspend their disbelief I would recommend this one.  But for those who prefer a little more believability in a modernization, try reading Rapunzel Untangled By Cindy C. Bennett.  Not perfect, but the better attempt at a modern Rapunzel in my opinion.

 

VERDICT:  2/5  Stars

 

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via Edelweiss. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication date is May 14th, 2013.*

Wild At Heart

Expected Publication:  May 28th, 2013
Wild Awake
By: Hilary T. Smith
Katherine Tegen Books
ISBN-13:  9780062184689

Things you earnestly believe will happen while your parents are away:

1. You will remember to water the azaleas.
2. You will take detailed, accurate messages.
3. You will call your older brother, Denny, if even the slightest thing goes wrong.
4. You and your best friend/bandmate Lukas will win Battle of the Bands.
5. Amid the thrill of victory, Lukas will finally realize you are the girl of his dreams.

Things that actually happen:

1. A stranger calls who says he knew your sister.
2. He says he has her stuff.
3. What stuff? Her stuff.
4. You tell him your parents won’t be able to—
5. Sukey died five years ago; can’t he—
6. You pick up a pen.
7. You scribble down the address.
8. You get on your bike and go.
9. Things . . . get a little crazy after that.*
*also, you fall in love, but not with Lukas.

Review

 

     Kiri Byrd is spending the summer alone at home, while her parents are away on their anniversary cruise and her older brother Denny stays at school for extra classes.  She counts on hanging out with her best friend Lukas and finally making him see her as more than just a friend.  Kiri expects to practice almost every waking second for the piano showcase that is supposed to change her life and secure her future - all while winning Battle of the Bands with Lukas and getting the acclaim they deserve.  She doesn't expect for things to come crashing down with just one phone call: it come from someone named Doug telling her to come pick up her dead sister Sukey's stuff before her old building is torn down for good.  After suppressing the pain and anger at her parents for Sukey's death, Kiri begins to break - especially once she learns that Sukey's death was no accident after all.  Can Kiri pick up the pieces with the help of an unusual new friend named Skunk, and turn her life into something worth living again?  Or will she let grief consume her until there's nothing left? 
     This book was about the pain of family, losing someone you love, growing up and falling in love for the first time.  Most of all, it was about learning to accept and express feelings, even negative ones, for what they are.  Kiri spends most of the book trying to numb herself with weed and alcohol, hoping to forget everything that's wrong with her life.  Kiri starts the novel as someone with no self-worth, who is living for other people.  I absolutely loved the way she grows and changes, but the best thing for me was relationship with Skunk, the guy who fixes her bike when she's in the city getting Sukey's things.  He is obviously in a bad place as well and the way they connect to each other is sweet and her acceptance of his crazy, messy existence speaks volumes for Kiri and the woman she's becoming.  I felt like the open ended way this book resolved went with the almost aimless wandering of the plot.  It wasn't meant to change the world, just to tell the story of Kiri Byrd and her dysfunctional family, trapped in their grief and trying to make their way out of it.  This reminded me a lot of a Sarah Dessen or Simone Elkeles book and the prose was beautiful.  The one thing that irked me was how little time was spent with the musical side of Kiri's life (except to show how badly she was screwing it up), when she's basically described as a prodigy.  It just felt like background noise to me, put there to fill in some vague character details.  Overall, an interesting and well written novel, but something was always keeping me from connecting to it with that last little thread.  Worth a read for anyone who enjoys contemporary YA fiction, with major family issues and some romance mixed in for good measure.

VERDICT:  4/5  Stars

*I received this book as part of Around the World ARC Tours, run by the lovely Princess Bookie. No favors or money were exchanged for this review. It became available for purchase on May 28th, 2013.*

Cult of Personality

Expected Publication: March 1st, 2013

Being Henry David

By: Cal Armistead

Albert Whitman Teen

ISBN-13: 9780807506158

Seventeen-year-old "Hank" has found himself at Penn Station in New York City with no memory of anything --who he is, where he came from, why he's running away. His only possession is a worn copy of Walden, by Henry David Thoreau. And so he becomes Henry David-or "Hank" and takes first to the streets, and then to the only destination he can think of--Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. Cal Armistead's remarkable debut novel is about a teen in search of himself. Hank begins to piece together recollections from his past. The only way Hank can discover his present is to face up to the realities of his grievous memories. He must come to terms with the tragedy of his past, to stop running, and to find his way home.

Review

     A seventeen year old boy wakes up in Penn Station with a small amount of money in his pocket, a copy of Walden by Henry David Thoreau and no idea who he is, or where he came from.  Calling himself Hank (after Thoreau), he manages to get on the wrong side of a drug dealer and is forced to flee the city.  With very few clues to his past, Hank travels to Concord, Massachusetts to visit Walden Pond and hopefully figure out who he really is - and how to get back home.  With the help of some new friends and some painful memories will Hank be able to piece things together?  More importantly, will he even want to return to his old life once he knows the horrifying truth of why he left to begin with?  I normally stay away from books that sound like they might be shaping up to be murder mysteries or thrillers.  The synopsis and the first half of the book give that impression to a reader.  However, once the second half starts things really begin to clear up and show this book for what it is - a book about a broken family, guilt, friendship and second chances.  Hank is a character that's easy to empathize with.  Not knowing anything about yourself kind of makes it really hard to know where to go or what to do with yourself.  I liked the relationships that Hank formed with Thomas, the librarian and H.D. Thoreau re-enactor, and Hailey, a girl his apparent age with issues of her own.  The slow and painful revelations that come to Hank are tough to read about but very well-written.  The truth of why he left home and what really happened is heartbreaking and made me want to cry for him.  But near the end Hank learns that you can go home again sometimes - just never the same way twice.  Overall a really great coming of age book, with some interesting characters and great writing.  My main complaint would be the lack of obvious reason for street kids Nessa and Jack, other than as plot devices.  And the slow pace did get to me sometimes.   Otherwise highly recommended by me as a reader.

VERDICT:  4.5/5  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 March 1st, 2013.*

I'm So Over It

Expected Publication: September 18th, 2012
Burn for Burn
By: Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
ISBN-13: 9781442440753

BIG GIRLS DON'T CRY...
THEY GET EVEN.

Lillia has never had any problems dealing with boys who like her. Not until this summer, when one went too far. No way will she let the same thing happen to her little sister.

Kat is tired of the rumours, the insults, the cruel jokes. It all goes back to one person– her ex-best friend– and she's ready to make her pay.

Four years ago, Mary left Jar Island because of a boy. But she's not the same girl anymore. And she's ready to prove it to him.

Three very different girls who want the same thing: sweet, sweet revenge. And they won't stop until they each had a taste.

Review

   Lilllia has always been pretty, popular and has a great family life.  She manages things well until the night she has too much to drink at a party, and a boy goes to far even though she says 'no.'  Not to mention her younger sister seems to be having sleepovers with one of Lillia's guy friends (Alex Lind), lying and sneaking around.  She can't seem to count on her best friend Rennie, who seems more mean girl than friend lately.  So Lillia decides to get revenge on Alex herself - with the help of outcast Kat and not-so-new girl Mary.  Kat wants revenge on Rennie herself.  A long time ago they used to be best friends, until Rennie decided to ditch her and spread nasty rumors about her that ruined her seputation.  Now Kat is fed up and wants her to pay for what she's done.  Mary also wants revenge.  She came back to Jar Island specifically so that she could get back at one of the most popular boys in school, Reeve, who drove her to try committing suicide in the seventh grade and turned everyone against her.  Now she wants him to feel the pain that she's felt all of these years.  At first the girls are united under a drive for revenge and things run smoothly, just a little fun.  But when things get taken too far and someone ends up in the hospital, will the girls be able to live with themselves?  I thought the idea for the novel was intriguing and I loved Jenny Han's Summer series.  I'm not such a big fan of Siobhan Vivian, but I felt like with two writers it would easily overlooked.  I loved the narration for Lillia.  The poor girl was trying to please everyone in her life, while still keeping something for herself.  My main complaint would be that the rape was majorly glossed over.  It didn't affect Lillia nearly as much as I thought that it would.  Also, her entire 'revenge' issue could have been settled by simply freaking TALKING TO ALEX!  All the same, for me she was the most sympathetic.  With a horrible best friend like Rennie, sympathy is in order.  Second in my mind was Kat.  I identified with her ostracization, the rumors and the somewhat poor upbringing she had in comparison with her classmates.  I definitely understood her motivations for revenge and why Rennie was the target.  I mean, it wasn't enough to just ditch Alex she had to ruin her life as well, on the heels of the loss of her Mom.  The one character I didn't connect to AT ALL was Mary.  I felt like she was part of an after-school special, not a book.  She was very one-dimensional.  I never felt like I, as a reader, got much insight into her mind.  She was far more of a telling character than a 'showing' one.  The situation with Reeve felt very untrue and not very realistic (at least in my experience).  The plot was a little slow to unfold, but once it did it went really smoothly.  All except for a really abrupt and in my honest opinion, ridiculous ending.  Even if there is a sequel I don't forsee myself reading it.  The ending ruined any good feeling for the rest of the book on my part.  The hint of supernatural thrown in on the last few pages didn't fit in at all.  It was the Waldo of the 'Where Is Waldo' book series.  Not a book I will re-read or recommend.

VERDICT:  2.25/5  Stars

*I received this book as part of Around the World ARC Tours, run by the lovely Princess Bookie. No favors or money were exchanged for this review. It will be available for purchase on September 18th, 2012.*

Don't Breathe My Name...

Published: January 3rd, 2012
Don't Breathe a Word
By: Holly Cupala
HarperTeen
ISBN-13: 9780061766695


Joy Delamere is suffocating...
From asthma, which has nearly claimed her life. From her parents, who will do anything to keep that from happening. From delectably dangerous Asher, who is smothering her from the inside out.

Joy can take his words—tender words, cruel words—until the night they go too far.

Now, Joy will leave everything behind to find the one who has offered his help, a homeless boy called Creed. She will become someone else. She will learn to survive. She will breathe... if only she can get to Creed before it’s too late.

Set against the gritty backdrop of Seattle’s streets and a cast of characters with secrets of their own, Holly Cupala’s powerful new novel explores the subtleties of abuse, the meaning of love, and how far a girl will go to discover her own strength.

Review

   Joy Delamere had a pretty good life, with a decent family and some close friends.  All that changed when she started going out with Asher, a rich boy with a cruel streak.  But after overlooking all of the problems with their relationship, one night Asher goes to far.  Joy decides to run away because she knows that Asher will never let go of her any other way.  Making it look like she was kidnapped, Joy escapes from her house and disguises herself by bleaching her hair, wearing goth-like clothes and calling herself Triste.  Joy only takes some basics with her, including her asthma medication.  Without it, there is a possibility that Joy could literally suffocate to death, because her asthma has already almost killed her before.  Joy sets out to find this homeless boy named Creed, who promised to help her (when he saw her and Asher fight outside a club one night).  Creed, along with his friends Santos and May who are equally messed up, take Joy under their wing.  As they school her on the ways of the streets, Joy learns to value herself  and begins to fall in love with Creed.  Evnetually each of the group's individual issues catch up with them.  Will having one another be enough to survive?  Joy's journey was so heartbreakingly real.  While sympathizing with her situation, at the same time you want to grab her shoulders and shake some serious sense into her!  All of the problems and family issues of each of the kids is realistic and painful to read about, especially Santos.  The book evolves in a way that stays true to the characters, but I did feel disappointed with how neatly things wrap up for Creed and Joy.  Overall a good read that I had a hard time putting down.  Recommended for those who want a realistic fiction book that packs a punch.

VERDICT:  4/5  Stars

*No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores and online.*