The Spectacular Now, by Tim Tharp

2.5 stars

Man, am I in the minority here. After reading raving reviews, watching the movie trailer and receiving recommendations from people I care about, I was expecting an emotional book that left me in tears. What I got was a book about drunk teens doing stupid things, partying, and drinking some more.

The Spectacular Now is about Sutter Keely, who has a drinking problem and lives in denial. Denial of his messed-up family, denial of his alcoholism, etc. Once he wakes up on a random front lawn and meets Aimee, he makes it his personal goal to take this shy, nerdy girl and give her a taste of his life of partying and “having fun,” falling in love with her on the way.

Featured Post: New Releases in YA for March 2015

Often, in the book world, we find ourselves spending and awful lot of time waiting for a book to come out. Of course, there are ways around this, for example, NetGalley, but for the average reader, this is not an option. So, when the time does come, out of the masses of books that release each month, you need to know exactly what to get your hands on and when, so you can maximize your reading and know what to read. Thankfully, I am here to tell you what’s coming out in March, and you’ll probably see me at the bookstore with these in hand the day they come out. 🙂

1. Liars, Inc. by Paula Stokes –  Coming March 24, 2015

The Blurb: Max Cantrell has never been a big fan of the truth, so when the opportunity arises to sell forged permission slips and cover stories to his classmates, it sounds like a good way to make a little money and liven up a boring senior year. With the help of his friends Preston and Parvati, Max starts Liars, Inc. Suddenly everybody needs something and the cash starts pouring in. Who knew lying could be so lucrative?

When Preston wants his own cover story to go visit a girl he met online, Max doesn’t think twice about hooking him up. Until Preston never comes home. Then the evidence starts to pile up—terrifying clues that lead the cops to Preston’s body. Terrifying clues that point to Max as the murderer.

Can Max find the real killer before he goes to prison for a crime he didn’t commit? In a story that Kirkus Reviews called “Captivating to the very end,” Paula Stokes starts with one single white lie and weaves a twisted tale that will have readers guessing until the explosive final chapters. 

Wow, what an incredible synopsis! As a huge fan I Hunt Killers, I am definitely looking forward to Liars, Inc. And combing through reviews of the lucky-ducks who’ve read it already, I can tell this is going to be a good one. 🙂

Fragile Bones, by Lorna Schultz Nicholson

Rating: 3.5 Stars

A sweet, feel-good book, but unfortunately, has a few flaws. 

Fragile Bones is about Harrison, a fifteen-year-old boy with high-functioning autism and Anna, a high school senior who’s joined the “Best Buddies” program at her school for a helpful addition to her college applications. When these two are paired together, they go through the entirety of the novel getting to know each other and forming an uncommon and sweet friendship.

This is a wonderfully sweet novel, and a pretty light and quick read, so I enjoyed myself reading this book. Harrison was well layered and the chapters in his POV provided us a wonderful look into his view of life. While I don’t know much about autism, Nicholson seems to have done her research and nothing stood out to me as unrealistic.

Obsidian, by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Actual Rating: 4.25 stars

Obsidian was a ride.

Summary from Goodreads: Starting over sucks. When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I’d pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring… until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.

And then he opened his mouth. Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something… unexpected happens.

The hot alien living next door marks me.

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon’s touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I’m getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.

If I don’t kill him first, that is.
Story: The story was perfectly paced, and nicely written. Armentrout’s writing isn’t too simplistic or tedious, it has just the right amount of everything. I would have preferred the book to be a little more longer, and I do think Katy should have found out about the twins’ situation a little later in the book, but that’s fine. What I love overall about this book, was just the overall sense of humor. I loved how something really serious happens and everyone just starts laughing. Even though it was a bit unrealistic, it made me feel really happy. 🙂

Steelheart, by Brandon Sanderson

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Steelheart was a surprisingly good read, and I can’t say there are many flaws with it. The plot was well paced, the world building great, and the characters well-developed. But before I get into that, let’s start at the beginning.

Steelheart is about a world where, after an apocalypse of sorts, called Calamity, certain humans gain superpowers and take over the world. The events of this book follow David, a boy intent on enacting vengeance on Steelheart, the superhuman, or Epic, that caused his father’s death and took over the city of Chicago, now Newcago.

The plot is fast paced and I was into it the whole time, frantically turning the pages, trying to find out what happened next. The world was well-built as well, although it it a bit foggy as to what happened to the rest of the world outside Newcago, a bit of information I would have liked to have had. Regardless, I was never confused or overwhelmed with the sci-fi terminology, as books in this genre tend to overdo it with the sci-fi elements.

Evermore, By Alyson Noel

Rating: 2.5

*Le sigh* Where to start, where to start?

I was expecting this book to be absolutely horrible, but… it surprised me. I’ll let you be the judge of what kind of surprise it was.

Story: The story was fine, but it felt so underdeveloped and quickly done. I admit, I did like it at first, but it soon started dragging and I was completely bored around the end. Another thing, Noel obviously did not do her research. Being psychic does not mean you immediately know every answer on a test or a person’s life story. It means you get glimpses of the future. Like, everybody knows that.

Characters: All the characters were quite lacking in personality and human-like nature.

Sever, by Lauren Destefano

Actual Rating: 3.5

It’s actually been a while since I’ve read this, but since I reviewed the other two books in the series, I didn’t want to leave it unfinished.

In Sever, Rhine is still trying to figure out all the answers to her questions, while taking refugee in Vaughn’s estranged brother’s house, Reed. She struggles to find her twin brother,Rowen, who is part of a resistance group, before he does something disastrous.

Story: I was expecting a bit more action, as most of the final books in a trilogy have, but to be honest, I liked the story in Sever just fine. At some points, I felt like Destefano was just adding random It was only in this book that I discovered how beautiful Destefano’s writing is. It’s so pretty! The way she describes things really made reading this book a lot more addicting than it actually is.

These Broken Stars, by Amie Kaufman

Let me just start out by saying that this isn’t a bad book. I actually recommend it. But it is just a matter of whether it is for you or not.

The majority of the people that read this book seemed to like it, so there is a very small chance that you won’t enjoy this fantasy novel.

But read the review anyway.

Story: I loved the first 40%. It progressed greatly, not too slow and not too fast. The rest of the story dragged a bit for me. Something just needed to reallyhappen, and most of the time it seemed like all these events were thrown together to move forth Tarver and Lilac’s romance. But then again, this is just me.

Friday Brown, by Vikki Wakefield

Rating: 4 Stars

Originally I had a short paragraph on how much I loved this book, and I did, only I was still reeling from the emotions and didn’t really get a chance to think about how good the book really is. So, after a few days, I’ve downgraded my rating to 4 stars, and you’ll soon find out why.

Friday Brown, a scarcely-known Australian book, is about Friday, who runs away from home and her family curse following her mother’s death. In the city, she meets up with Silence, a mute boy who takes her in, and a group of kids led by a motherly figure named Arden.