I Don't Wanna Go To This Crazy, Messed Up School

Expected Publication:  May 21st, 2013
Night School (Night School # 1)
By: C.J. Daugherty
Katherine Tegen Books
ISBN-13: 9780062193858

Allie's world is falling apart...

She hates her school. Her brother has run away. And she's just been arrested.

Again.

Now her parents are sending her away to a boarding school where she doesn't know a soul.

But instead of hating her new school, Allie finds she's happy there. She's making friends. And then there's Sylvain, a suave French student who openly flirts with her. And Carter, the brooding loner who seems to have her back.

Soon, though, Allie discovers Cimmeria Academy is no ordinary school. Nothing there is as it seems. And her new friends are hiding dangerous secrets.

Review (BEWARE OF SPOILERS)

 

     Mysterious boarding school, dangerously hot boys, good girl gone bad - what's not to love?  Unfortunately, a lot of things in this particular book.  First issue being the inconsistencies in Allie's character.  She goes from acting out and being arrested repeatedly, to doing what everyone tells her to and believing anything they say, even when things aren't adding up.  The synopsis pegs this as a book with a major mystery.  That mystery being what exactly Night School is, who is in it, why and what they are trying to gain in life from it.  Instead of being answered slowly bit-by-bit, this is jumbled and shoved together in answer format in the last 10 percent or so of the book.  Most of this book is spent on Allie's decision between mysterious, charming, hot French boy Sylvain and not-so-bad boy, 'womanizer' Carter.    A lot of time is also spent on Allie's friendship with unstable, but fun and sweet Jo who I found myself more interested in than Allie herself.  That is, until Jo was turned into a complete moron by her treatment of others (namely Allie and Carter) and becomes a complete cliché in the last third of the book.  The whole book spends its time having mysterious animal attacks, students not being allowed outside after dark and the separation of the Night School kids being waved in the reader's face like a big, fat paranormal clue.  It is a tease and a liar peoples!  In the big revelation at the end, we find out that the secret is a Skulls type of secret society (like the movie from 2000 with Joshua Jackson) that is made up of rich douchebags who indoctrinate their children and basically rule the powerful positions of the world!  WTF??? 

     Also, at the Summer Ball that Allie and friends become obsessed over at the halfway mark of the book, she is practically date-raped by Sylvain (who is supposed to be a nice guy) and we're made to think he's trying to mind control her through supernatural means.  This is never explained to my satisfaction (or probably anyone else's, really).  Also, there is a horrific fire and another student in murdered - which everyone then pretends was a suicide and no one calls the police.  At this point Jo goes completely off the rails, does stupid shit and then blames everything on Allie!  Things only devolve from there till the ending.  The romance between Allie and Carter is set up from the beginning of the book, but when it actually happens it felt very staged to me.  He's a sweet guy, but she spent most of the book hating him and going for Sylvain (which doesn't say much for her taste).  And Allie's long-lost brother Christopher who disappeared and is the reason for her bad behavior/sadness, is suddenly spotted in bad-guy Nathaniel's army and thrown into the ending like loose change no one knows what to do with, cause there's not quite enough for a candy bar.  Again, WTF???  All in all, not what I was expecting and very deceptive in the way it was marketed and tried to court me as a reader.  But for all that, I still managed to finish it and really liked/enjoyed the slow burn and funny dialogue of the first 2/3 of this book.  Which made it all the more heartbreaking when it crashed and burned.  It was a world of no at the end and that made me very sad.

 

 

Some memorable quotes:

 

(From when Jo teaches Allie to play chess)

 

'Allie held it up and made a neighing sound.  Jo gave her a withering look.

     "Pony," said Allie weakly.

     "Get serious Allie," Jo said.  "This isn't a game.  Not really.  Because chess is really war.".........

Trying to look serious, Allie placed her knight where she was told, but shooting Jo a rebellious glance, she murmured, "Good horsie" under her breath.

 

(About going back to school and leaving the chapel open behind her and Carter)

 

"We'll get in trouble if it's left open," she reasoned.  "And I really don't think it would be great for Jo to be quizzed by Zelazny right now.  Besides, what if a fox gets in and eats Jesus?"

 

(Worst passage in the book, during the fire at the dance, starts with Jo speaking about her boyfriend Gabe just leaving her when the fire starts)

 

"Eloise says everyone's fine, so he's fine.  It's just...he just left me there.  In a fire." 

     "Oh, babe."  Allie reached out to squeeze her arm..."He made sure you were safe first, right?...And you know what?  He has faith that you're tough, and can take care of yourself.  And that's kind of cool."

 

 

VERDICT:  2.5/5  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 May 21st, 2013.*



Reaching Out, Possessing You

Published:  January 1st, 2013
The Dead and Buried
By: Kim Harrington
Scholastic Point
ISBN-13:  9780545333023

A haunted house, a buried mystery, and a very angry ghost make this one unforgettable thriller.

Jade loves the house she's just moved into with her family. She doesn't even mind being the new girl at the high school: It's a fresh start, and there's that one guy with the dreamy blue eyes. . . . But then things begin happening. Strange, otherworldly things. Jade's little brother claims to see a glimmering girl in his room. Jade's jewelry gets moved around, as if by an invisible hand. Kids at school whisper behind her back like they know something she doesn't.

Soon, Jade must face an impossible fact: that her perfect house is haunted. Haunted by a ghost who's seeking not just vengeance, but the truth. The ghost of a girl who ruled Jade's school — until her untimely death last year. It's up to Jade to put the pieces together before her own life is at stake. As Jade investigates the mystery, she discovers that her new friends in town have more than a few deep, dark secrets. But is one of them a murderer?

Review

 

     Jade and her family have finally moved into a nice house in the city and she's excited to be going to school with people other than the same ones she's always known.  But nothing really prepares her for the fact that their new house is the most notorious in town and for good reason: the former queen bee of her new school, Kayla, died there only a few months ago!  Oh yeah, and she's haunting the place too and won't move on until Jade solves her murder.  And Kayla's not afraid to be vicious and cruel to get what she wants, including possessing Jade's little brother and threatening to kill him.  But with so many people crushed under Kayla's wrecking ball combination of personality and actions, which one of them actually killed her?  With the help of Kayla's ex-boyfriend Donovan, investigating all of her former friends is still a daunting task.  But will the discovery of her secret diary crack the case?  And can Jade save her family from destruction when the truth is finally uncovered once and for all?

     I love a good ghost story and it seems like they're a somewhat rare species in the YA genre lately.  Usually authors go for the shiny, more monsterish paranormal beings.  But I liked the old-school decision on the part of this author to go with a ghost.  Jade as a main character would come across as kind of bland to some I suppose, but I thought she was strong and refused to let herself be bullied by other people into doing things she didn't want, or think were right.  Case in point, her 'friendship' with Faye and also with Kane.  She went along with them, but only to a certain point and then she cut them off and did the right thing.  I loved Jade's sweet interactions with Donovan, and the underlying darkness at first because of the possibility of his involvement with Kayla's death.  A nice touch on the part of the author was making Jade unique, with her gemstone hobby and I liked the fact that her Dad and Stepmom weren't the normal deadbeat/asshole YA parents that inhabit about 90% of all YA novels.  They loved her, even the Stepmom Marie, no matter whether they always got along or agreed with each other.  The whole possession thing freaked me the HELL OUT.  Seriously, could you imagine a ghost taking over your body, let alone the body of someone you love?  Enough nightmare material to last a lifetime.  The avoidance of  love triangle definitely worked in favor of me liking this book.  Super sick and tired of anything even remotely resembling a love triangle.  No more please, writers of the world!  Just no more, my brain begs of you.  

     Kayla's diary entries and the unraveling of her bitchy drama in life just did nothing at all to make me like her.  And after finding out why her killer actually shoved her down the stairs, I kind of sided with the killer a little bit.  The resolution of the mystery wasn't entirely predicatable at first, but I wasn't surprised either, especially with how entirely OBVIOUS it is that the person set up to be the killer couldn't be, unless Harrington was a really lazy and bad writer.  The effort throughout dissuaded me from that thought pretty quickly.  I did like the reactions of her parents when they finally believed her about Kayla haunting the house.  I feel like the scene was supposed to be scary, but it kind of made me laugh out loud.  Overall a fun, quick read and a decent ghost story.  The mystery is basic but not completely cliché, and I would recommend it to those who enjoy ghost stories and a don't mind a bit of sweet romance thrown in, or normal family issues, etc.  I found it refreshing for a change.   

 

VERDICT:  3.75/5  Stars

 

**No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores, online, or maybe even at your local library.**

Don't Look a Gift Horse In The Mouth...

Published:  March 27th, 2012
Gift
By: Andrea J. Buchanan
Open Road E-riginal
ISBN-13:  9781453220214

Daisy has an electrifying secret that could save her life—or kill her
High school sophomore Daisy Jones is just trying to get by unnoticed. It doesn’t help that she’s the new girl at school, lives in a trailer park, and doesn’t even own a cell phone. But there’s a good reason for all that: Daisy has a secret, unpredictable power—one only her best friend, Danielle, knows about.  Despite her “gift” (or is it a curse?), Daisy’s doing a good job of fitting in, and a gorgeous senior named Kevin even seems interested in her! But when Daisy tries to help Vivi, a mysterious classmate in a crisis, she soon discovers that her new friend has a secret of her own. Now Daisy and her friends must deal with chilling dreams and messages from the beyond. Can Daisy channel the power she’s always tried to hide, before it’s too late? 

Extra features include:•   A short graphic novel telling Vivi’s story•   Danielle’s journal, revealing her deepest thoughts •   Lyrics and video links for Kevin's music (songs composed by Fredrik Larsson, otherwise known as YouTube sensation FreddeGredde). 

Review

 

    This one I requested off Netgalley, originally because I thought it was a re-pub of some '90s teen paranormal book - and I love those cheesy things to death! :)  So imagine my surprise when I saw a Twilight reference in the dialogue - but it was a nice surprise.  The main character Daisy is the new kid in school for what seems like the millionth time when she and her Mom move because of trouble at her last school.  She has an ability that they've kept a secret, to manipulate electricity and it makes her a death sentence to things like cell phones, computers, mp3 players, and anything electrical.  The only person she tells is her new friend Danielle, until Daisy saves another classmate Vivi from an overdose in the school bathroom.  Afterwards Vivi confesses to Daisy that she has her own personal ghost, Patrick, who's been with her since she was little.  And he says that the girls are connected somehow.  When Daisy, Vivi and even Danielle start sharing dreams of things that never happened to them, and people they've never met - but who really did exist in the past - they begin to wonder what it all means.  With the help of cute senior boy Kevin, the girls begin to piece things together and discover that not everyone is who they say they are, and that someone wants revenge on them.  Can they stop evil from destroying them all or will it consume them completely? 

     It was a little bit short and did read kind of young for my tastes.  But I really enjoyed the fact that for the most part, the main character's special powers weren't the focus of the book.  They were just a part of who she was as a person.  The main focus is really on the relationship between Vivi, Danielle and Daisy, how their past lives intersected and why Patrick (who Vivi is in love with and calls her 'angel') is haunting the three of them.  As the plot moves along, things do get a little bit convoluted with Daisy's inability to be around technology without breaking it getting glossed over and the situation with one of the teachers being solved way too neat and tidy in the end.  Honestly the sarcastic quips, overdramatic flair and fun personality of Danielle kept things moving along for me as a reader.  I liked Daisy, who as a sweet, shy, good-girl was a nice foil for Danielle's over the top ways and Vivi's naïve, stupid, head in the sand life philosophies!  Kevin as a love interest was very sweet and boy next door, but I liked his banter and interactions with Daisy.  I also highly enjoyed how present Daisy's Mom was in the book and in the best possible way.  So nice to see a parent represented in a YA book and not made into a monster, or a complete cliché.  The ending wasn't a complete surprise but the twists and turns kept me going through the book.  Plus this release included some really cool extras: a graphic novel by Vivi of what happened in the book, the lyrics of Kevin's songs and a link to his YouTube channel, and Danielle's diary which clears up some confusing things about her possession.  The inclusion of mythology was nice and the fact that it was the story of Eurydice and Orpheus was pretty awesome - they don't get a lot of play in contemporary fiction.  Overall an enjoyable read and I would recommend it to those who don't mind books that read younger.  It has an awesome enough premise and execution to make up for it. 

 

VERDICT:  4/5  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 27th, 2012.*

The Lone Ranger Rides Again!

Expected Publication:  July 9th, 2013
The Lone Ranger Omnibus, Volume 1
By: Brett Matthews (Story), Sergio Cariello (Illustrator) and Paul Pope (Illustrator)
Dynamite Entertainment
ISBN-13:  9781606903520

Dynamite's The Lone Ranger series - written by Brett Matthews and expertly rendered by Sergio Cariello and Paul Pope, with incredible covers by the amazing John Cassaday - is a must-read for long-time fans of America's favorite hero of the Wild West! Now for the first time ever, all 25 issues, plus The Lone Ranger: Creed #0 FCBD story, are available in one-amazing collection! The Lone Ranger Omnibus Volume 1 features 632-pages of this classic Eisner Nominated series, as well as a complete cover gallery! Read the entire story of how John Reid was transformed into The Lone Ranger, and, along with his partner Tonto, set a new standard of justice in the Old West!

Review

 

     I have heard of Lone Ranger before and know about the T.V. show from the 50s, the comic books and even the racist stereotypes of the character Tonto, his Native American companion.  Never have I experience any of these things firsthand before now.  What the hell took me so long???  Seeing as this was a review copy, only the first hundred pages or so was collected in it, instead of the 600 and some in the full volume that will be released in July.  But the first hundred pages held more than enough adventure, tragic backstory and hero origins to make any comic book proud.  I loved the balance between dark and light in the artwork.  It had splashes of major color, like the real Old West but also represented the darkness in Lone Ranger's life and it's evolution while dealing with the massacre of his family, all the while not trivializing it or making it into 'statement' art like so many graphic novels become.  I loved the depiction of Tonto as his friend, equal and mentor in revenge, avoiding stereotypes for the most part except for a depiction of him carrying come scalps, but to say that no Native American ever scalped anyone would be PC rewriting history, so it didn't bother me all that much as a reader.  This comic managed to represent copious amounts of violence without becoming an exercise in unnecessary gore like another I read fairly recently, a retelling of Sleepy Hollow which could have taken lessons in tasteful violence from the newest incarnation of the Ranger.  As a fan of Westerns such as Young Guns, The Angel and the Badman, Dances With Wolves, Lonesome Dove (book and film), and the miniseries Into The West, this had an apprehensive start for me.  I knew I would enjoy it in some capacity, but was unsure quite how much - I was rewarded for my faith with a comic that I really loved.   My copy left off with a cliffhanger and I want to know if the Lone Ranger ever has a showdown with Butch Cavendish, the main villain of this rebooted series! :)  I guess I will have to get my hands on a full copy when it's published.  All I can say is that this comic managed to avoid some of the traps that comics trying TOO hard often fall into - lurid or sparse artwork, too much text, clichéd action sequences - and it definitely impressed me as a reader.  I don't know if I'll be seeing the upcoming film, but I'm a definite fan of the upcoming graphic novel!  Recommended for fans of Western novels and films, who like the tragic hero stories and have a thirst for justice.  I don't know how fans of the original comics will feel, but I'd like to think they'll enjoy 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 July 9th, 2013.*

Like Today Never Happened Before

Expected Publication:  May 28th, 2013
Dare You To (Pushing the Limits # 2)
By: Katie McGarry
HarlequinTeen
ISBN-13:  9780373210633

Ryan lowers his lips to my ear. "Dance with me, Beth."

"No." I whisper the reply. I hate him and I hate myself for wanting him to touch me again....

"I dare you..."

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school that doesn't understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does....

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can't tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn't be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won't let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all....

Review

 

     Beth Risk has been taking care of her drug addict Mom for years and when she picks a deadly new boyfriend who likes to take things too far, Beth is still doing the rescuing.  But then when things get out of hand and Beth is arrested for destruction of property while covering for her Mom (yet again), her Uncle Scott finally steps in and takes custody of her.  Forced to live with someone she hasn't seen in years, who Beth hates for abandoning her to join a Major League baseball team, she's taken away from her friends and her life for a new reality she doesn't fit into.  Ryan Stone has been the baseball star, perfect son, popular guy with the most beautiful girlfriend in school with nothing to mess it up.  But then his perfect family shatters when his brother Mark tells a secret their parents won't hear and is kicked out for it.  And Ryan is picked for a writing competition that might interfere with his baseball games/obsession.  Not to mention the new girl in town who is totally different from all the other girls Ryan knows, who refuses to be charmed by him.  Can something that starts as a dare be the relationship that saves both Ryan and Beth from a life unlived or lived for others?  And can it survive when everyone is against them? 

     I really enjoyed this book, but have since come down from any illusion of LOVING it.  I fell in love with Noah and Echo in Pushing the Limits but went into this one expecting to hate Beth's guts, because in the previous book she was a spiteful, selfish and cruel bitch who had no real reason to hate Echo but tore her down every opportunity she got.  With what a screwed up character she is, I wasn't surprised with Beth's home life being the way it was.  But to be honest I felt like the big revelation as to why her Mom 'hates' her was extremely clichéd and had me rolling my eyes more than anything else.  This whole book revolves around drugs and abusive behavior and sometimes the preachiness of 'doing the right thing' got on my nerves.  While Beth was broken, hostile and self-sabotaging in a such a realistic way I hated AND felt sorry for her, Ryan was the opposite.  He knew what he wanted in life: baseball.  This book was about him branching out and learning to live his own life, along with the fact that it's okay to have more than one interest or passion.  We see that while he has both parents and lives in a fancy house, Ryan still has a miserable home life.  Also, he tends to act like a complete asshole sometimes.  For example, when he nominates Beth for Homecoming Court against her wishes, asks her out based on a dare (but he does tell her about it before they get serious, so props for that), etc.  The whole 'rain in a bottle' thing was cute but kind of not really a ohh and ahh moment for me personally.  Honestly loved the romance, but felt like Beth moved past her problems unrealistically and that her Mom trying to get better wasn't very true to what would really happen.  Her Mom would die of an overdose in real life - just sayin'.  The slut and druggie plot tropes really grated me as well, but as most of the book is spent in Small Town, USA away from direct interaction with those plot lines I could ignore my annoyance.  Also, I would have kicked Beth's ass to the curb for using me to 'run away' with her Mom and getting me almost beat to death.  Yeah Ryan, we get it you're a saint/martyr and you should get laid! :p  A really good book for what it was, which was an issue romance with characters that were overtly unlikable for most of the book.  The fact that I was smiling and happy at the end says that Ms. McGarry has some major talent despite the clichés, tropes and overall bad patches.  I recommend this to fans of contemporary YA issue books and angsty romances with fairy tale endings.  I am a sucker for those FT endings and that accounts for my high rating in some capacity! :)

 

 

VERDICT:  3.75/5  Stars

 

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley and a print copy 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 May 28th, 2013.*

Under My Skin

Published:  October 28th, 2010
Warm Bodies (Warm Bodies # 1)
By: Isaac Marion
Atria/Emily Bestler Books
ISBN-13:  9781476717463

R is having a no-life crisis—he is a zombie. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse, but he is a little different from his fellow Dead. He may occasionally eat people, but he’d rather be riding abandoned airport escalators, listening to Sinatra in the cozy 747 he calls home, or collecting souvenirs from the ruins of civilization.

And then he meets a girl.

First as his captive, then his reluctant guest, Julie is a blast of living color in R’s gray landscape, and something inside him begins to bloom. He doesn’t want to eat this girl—although she looks delicious—he wants to protect her. But their unlikely bond will cause ripples they can’t imagine, and their hopeless world won’t change without a fight.

Review  (BEWARE OF SPOILERS)

 

     Zombies are not my thing - AT ALL.  Especially not zombie love stories, which feel a little too much like they're cribbing from the Twilight playbook.  This book is the story of a boy (if you can call a zombie that in any real capacity) named 'R' and a girl named Julie.  One day when 'R' is out hunting with the other zombies living at the airport with him, he munches on Julie's boyfriend Perry.  Which does something weird to him and causes 'R' to kidnap Julie to keep her safe from the other zombies.  The story follows them as they grow closer and 'R' regains some of his humanity bit by bit.  Together they try to change the world and bring together the zombies and the remaining humans.  But can they really make a difference and what consequences could there be for a zombie and a human girl in a forbidden romance?  Never until just now did I realize all the Romeo & Juliet parallels between character names and even the reduxed storyline!  It was more than I expected, with the almost human 'families' that the zombies form with each other and the guidance provided by the elders, known as the 'Boneys' because they are nothing but skeletons.  I loved the fact that 'R' lived in a 747 and listened to Sinatra, with a romantic streak a mile wide.  But I felt like the fact that zombies munch on people and gain their memories/feelings was a little bit simplistic in theory and never really explained to my satisfaction.  Also, Julie is scared at first but accepts 'R' into her life a little too easily, especially knowing that he was most likely the one who ate her boyfriend Perry.  The scenes within the compound when Julie and her friend are trying to disguise 'R' from everyone and pass him off as human were more than a little ridiculous and unbelievable.  I mean, really?  These people who spend their entire lives keeping the zombies out and trying to eliminate them aren't going to notice when there's one in their midst?  They're not even gonna look closely at a supposed 'friend' from another compound?  Gimme a break!  And the way this ends, with the zombies beginning to transform into humans again because they're starting to 'feel' and experience things like the living (a.k.a. love and other schmaltzy things) made me want to gag!  If you're going to have it be a zombie/human romance, don't cop-out at the end and make things all shiny and new, with the zombie becoming human!  I liked the humor and oddness compared to other zombie novels, but the romance completely tanked this book for me.  Romeo & Juliet is so overplayed and I am so sick of retellings that try to camouflage themselves that I could scream.  Not the book for me at all and I wouldn't recommend it unless you're a fan of zombie books, romance and overly graphic/gory descriptiveness.

 

VERDICT:  2.75/5  Stars (Mostly props for originality and description I could picture in my head - and keeping me reading, which is the ultimate challenge.)

 

**No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores, online, or maybe even at your local library.**

Catch A Severed Head, and Put It In Your Pocket...

Expected Publication:  August 27th, 2013
The Beginning of Everything (Originally titled 'Severed Heads and Broken Hearts')
By: Robyn Schneider
Katherine Tegen
ISBN-13:  9780062217134

Golden boy Ezra Faulkner believes everyone has a tragedy waiting for them—a single encounter after which everything that really matters will happen. His particular tragedy waited until he was primed to lose it all: in one spectacular night, a reckless driver shatters Ezra’s knee, his athletic career, and his social life.

No longer a front-runner for Homecoming King, Ezra finds himself at the table of misfits, where he encounters new girl Cassidy Thorpe. Cassidy is unlike anyone Ezra’s ever met, achingly effortless, fiercely intelligent, and determined to bring Ezra along on her endless adventures.

But as Ezra dives into his new studies, new friendships, and new love, he learns that some people, like books, are easy to misread. And now he must consider: if one’s singular tragedy has already hit and everything after it has mattered quite a bit, what happens when more misfortune strikes?

Robyn Schneider’s The Beginning of Everything is a lyrical, witty, and heart-wrenching novel about how difficult it is to play the part that people expect, and how new beginnings can stem from abrupt and tragic endings.

Review

 

     Ezra Faulkner had it all - the girl, the car, the friends, popularity, jock status and the possibility of an athletic scholarship.  But then one night after he left a party, Ezra was in a horrible car accident that shattered his leg and destroyed his dreams for the future.  Now his friends are no longer involved in his life and his girlfriend, Charlotte, is dating his former best friend.  So he finds himself sitting with Toby, his friend from elementary school who caught someone's severed head on a Disneyworld rollercoaster and was ostracized for it.  Ezra also becomes the newest member of the debate team, as his schedule has been changed to accommodate for no longer being on the tennis team.  This is how he meets new girl Cassidy, who is mysterious and smart, completely different from anyone he's ever met before.  They begin a whirlwind romance, but with all the secrets she's keeping things may not last as long as Ezra hopes.  Can he become the person he always should have been and will his life ever be the same now that Cassidy is part of it? 

     I went into this expecting it to be more like reading a Sarah Dessen book than anything else.  That would have been totally fine, seeing as I love Ms. Dessen's books but what I got was something special in its own right and very original!  Unlike the synopsis implies, Ezra's friends are still trying to half-assed include him in their lives and activities.  But they do it in stupid, unfeeling ways like inviting him on sporty trips he can't be part of because of his leg.  And he's rightfully angry and confused, because none of them stayed to help him when he was hurt in the accident, they all left because they didn't want the cops to bust them for the party.  None of them visited him in he hospital either.  Toby's reacceptance and integration of Ezra into his life, group of nerd friends and the debate team he captains is wonderful.  He is an excellent example of taking an unfortunate circumstance and not letting it derail you (aka the severed head).  Also, he's not afraid to tell Ezra when he's acting like a douchebag.  Cassidy was my least favorite character, although the friendship and eventual romance between the two of them did make me smile.  But she is hiding some major secrets and has a serious superiority complex, acting like everyone else is dumber than her and beneath her notice.  Her stunts at the debate team competition are stupid and juvenile, and made me angry even though I understood her pain (if not her jacked up reasoning).  I guess that was the point of some of the events in this book, life doesn't always make sense and we don't always know people as well as we think we do.  The best thing about this book is the transformation of Ezra (definitely for the better) and how he becomes a completely different person gradually through the course of the book. 

     There was some very smart, witty dialogue but I never felt like I was being pandered to and I never got an impression of phoniness from any of the characters (except for Cassidy, but it fit with her habit of trying too hard to be okay).  Ezra's narration was very teenage boy, real and involving some deep feelings but also dealing with moments without common sense and garden variety teen behavior.  He's caught between letting himself change and trying to hang onto the way things used to be, even if they no longer fit into place the same way.  That's something everyone can relate to.  The ending was heart-wrenching, but wonderful in that it was completely unexpected and more true to life than most contemporary YA books turn out to be.  I did feel like some of the pop culture nostalgia was more in line with mid to late twenty-somethings and not teens.  For example, Furby and Tamogachis were both mentioned! Although Ezra's Halloween costume is pure late 2000s and will make you laugh if you have a sense of humor like mine!  Also, the twist involving an unknown connection between Cassidy and Ezra felt like it kind of came out of nowhere and didn't fit in with the feeling to the rest of the narrative.  Highly recommended for fans of contemporary YA romance/coming of age stories, who like a book that will play with their emotions and make them fall in love with the characters.

 

VERDICT:  4.5/5  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 August 27th, 2013.*