Book Review: "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl"

Similar in style to The Fault In Our Stars, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is another teen/YA story dealing with the topic of teenage cancer. The difference in this case being, it's told in a bit of an off-color style, without any huge lesson to be learned, or teary-eyed love story to be had, or any of the stuff that made up TFIOS.

This is the story of Greg Gaines; amateur film-maker, and his desire in life to remain politically neutral when it comes to the delicate ecosystem known as high school. His partner-in-crime (or rather, partner-in-film-making) Earl, despite being from entirely different worlds, gets dragged along for the ride. Greg is basically your typical all American overweight dorky teen boy, whose exploits with girls are quickly made known -- as well as all the ways he's managed to fail with all of them.

That is, until one of them later down the road ends up developing cancer and his mother forces him to go rekindle a friendship.

It's an awkward, bumpy ride. Greg isn't exactly thrilled with this plan; nor is Rachel, the girl in question. Yet they manage to forge a sort of friendship, especially when she gets made privvy to the top-secret library of films that Greg and Earl have made over the years that have never been seen by another set of human eyes aside from their own. She becomes their biggest fan -- and as her illness progresses, her best friend rallies for them to make a special movie, just for her.

Cue many failed attempts at making this film. They try it in a variety of different styles, none of which pan out into turning into much of anything worthwhile. The harder they try, the worse the attempts become, until Earl's sudden realization hit that they haven't been truly trying to make a film about this girl... they'd revolved it around themselves the whole time without meaning to, while never truly getting to know the girl known as Rachel, and before they know it, it's too late.

There's no sappy love story here. Not even a proper coming of age story. And yet, there's a certain truth that rings through in this novel that makes it feel authentic, as if this were a true story that really happened to someone. There's something to be said for that.... and for that, I rate this book a 4 out of 5 rating. I'd say it's well worth giving this one a read.

Book Review: "The Four Dorothys (Drama!, #1)"

With a title like The Four Dorothys, my initial assumption was the book was likely about drag queens. (No really...for those not in the know, Judy Garland is more or less the patron saint of the LGBT world. The rainbow flags are even a nod to her.) Well, this book isn't about that (although I wouldn't have been opposed if it were -- quick, somebody write one! ;)). No, this story is about an ill-fated high school production of The Wizard of Oz that was doomed from the moment it left the gates, and ended up in complete and total utter sabotage. Without giving too much away, this story quickly becomes that of a whodunnit? nature. It's well-done though, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I also give props to all the chapter titles being named after different Broadway shows. (I literally squealed when I saw one was named after The Boy From Oz.) Even if you're not a Broadway geek like me, you'll probably still enjoy it even if some of the more subtle references sail over your head; the story itself is still phenomental. Big 5 stars for this one!

Book Review: "dancergirl"

dancergirl by Carol M. Tanzman is somewhat of a tale of warning of the perils of becoming a viral internet star. Just how easy it is for things to spiral out of control, for people to become obsessed, deranged, and a dangerous stalker...

It is also a mystery and suspense novel, as our heroine/victim Ali tries to figure out who's doing this to her, all whilst the acts becoming increasingly worse and far more disturbing with every step, perpetually ruining Ali's life. In our modern digital age, this is something that can, and does, happen quite frequently and is almost enough to be classified as a horror story for anyone who has ever uploaded a video of themself to the internet. For all the good that our modern age brings us, it brings along with it very real dangers lurking in the dark corners, and this book is very much a reminder of that.

That said, this story is exquisitely told and I couldn't put it down. 5 stars!

Book Review: "Let It Snow - Three Holiday Romances"

I'm sure you guys all remember my Lauren Myracle phase, where I barrelled through just about every book she wrote in a few months' time. ...Except this one, because our library's copy was ALWAYS checked out. Well, I finally got a hold of it (a couple of years later), and while I was anticipating it to be your typical, run of the mill collection of short stories, it does fit that bill...but more.

You see, these aren't just any holiday-themed short stories. You don't realize it going into it on the first one, but every detail is important, as all three of these stories are intertwined and connected (and pulled together especially at the end of the third story). It's done VERY expertly and really cutely, in my opinion. I found myself starting to fangirl every time the stories started to crossover on each other and link together, and it happens with increasing intensity the further it goes on, until you just feel like you know this close-knit small community in full. A nice quality to embody in a Christmas-themed story, if you ask me. Ranking this one 4 stars!

Book Review: "Real Live Boyfriends (Yes, Boyfriends, Plural. If My Life Weren't Complicated--I Wouldn't Be Ruby Oliver)"

The fourth (and what I assume to be, final) book of the Ruby Oliver series, and I now retract my earlier statement -- this is my favorite book in the series. All is not well in paradise for Ruby with Noel, or so she thinks. He goes away during the summer to NYC to visit his brother, Claude, and comes back acting distant and weird towards Ruby. Naturally, her anxiety leads her to think the worst. The reality: far worse than she could have ever imagined.

There's much drama filling the covers of this book, and well-written drama at that. I really enjoyed it though, and I sailed through the entire book in two and a half days -- I just couldn't put it down, I had to know where all the twists and turns were leading to! I highly recommend this book if you've been reading the series, and am rating it a high 5 stars :)

Book Review: "The Treasure Map Of Boys (Noel, Jackson, Fin,, Hutch, Gideon -- and me, Ruby Oliver)"

Having just finished reading the fourth book in the Ruby Oliver series, I have to admit, I think I like this one the best so far. It perfectly captures the complexities of high school relationships with friends, enemies, boys in general, adults, employers....you name it, it has it. It conveys exactly what it feels like to be caught in the middle of so many strongly conflicting emotions with different people and not knowing ideally how to handle any of it, even when your heart is in the right place and you're trying to do the right thing. All of this sounds very vague, but take my word for it. There's a lot to be said for this little book; so much so that I'm giving it a 5 star rating!

Book Review: "Confessions of a Teen Nanny #3: Juicy Secrets"

Well, I waded my way through the last of the Confessions of a Teen Nanny trilogy, and as usual with just about any series I enjoy, I'm sad to see it end. Although, there was lots of lovely juicy drama along the way! Some of the twists, you'll probably have seen coming since the beginning of the series -- others, these came out of seemingly nowhere and will knock you for a loop. There's scandal, there's intrigue, there's love, there's drama, there's...well, everything! Trust me, you'll love it. It's a fitting end to a wonderful series. 4 star rating :)

Book Review: "Lush"

While Natasha Friend's books may be aimed at a younger demographic, I couldn't resist the urge to pick this one up -- mostly to see how the disease of alcoholism, and in that of a parent, is portrayed. (Given it's an issue I've grown up around my whole life, and since I still live at home, it still applies.) I figured it would be approached in one of two ways: either in a charicaturistic fashion that would most likely leave me rolling my eyes, or making anyone who's an alcoholic out to be an absolute monster in a bid to scare people away from ever drinking. Instead, I found the story of a girl who's painfully real, and hits right at home. And this story doesn't just cover the father's drinking... It covers how the disease affects the entire family with his actions. The mother tries to drown herselfi n excuses and yoga; the baby brother is too young to know the difference one way or the other; and the main character, Sam, harbors much resentment for her father's drinking. (Understandably so... and in reading it, it made me feel a little better to know I'm not alone nor an awful person for having some anger towards my own father's behavior when he drinks. I imagine anyone who reads this who's living in a similar situation probably feels much the same way.) Then catastrophe hits -- I won't give away a spoiler here, because it's more or less one of the pinnacle points of the story -- and the father is sent off to rehab. And then we get the very realness of how the family is left to cope in his absence. In another twist, the main character unwittingly starts to walk in her dad's footsteps with drinking as well. (This is something not many stories of this calibre seem to touch on, and I'm kind of glad it did.) And the story's end is one that's up in the air.... it neither paints a rosy picture of 'Oh hey, rehab fixed everything and we have a perfect life now!' nor does it say 'Dad came home and started drinking again. The end.' It leaves you to come up with your own conclusions, which I think is a very real way of handling this, seeing as with alcoholism, it's very difficult to ever consider yourself fully cured, and relapses are often inevitable. But at least the ending gives way for hope, which is something that most people reading this book are in desperate need to cling to.

I'm rating this one a 4 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: "Hollywood Is Like High School With Money"

When you hear the name of the author Zoey Dean, it's quite likely that the first thing you'd think of would be the A List series. (It's also quite easy to dismiss her as an author if basing her off of said-series.) I would just like to say that Hollywood Is Like High School With Money is nothing like that. No, this story is vibrant, fresh, and it pops. You connect with the characters. You KNOW it probably won't end well, and you root for the underdog anyway, even when she's doing wrong. But most of all, Zoey has finally broke out of her mold of teen books. She's writing for a slightly older demographic, and the effort shows in spades. Yes, there's still nods of the head towards those teen books here and there throughout, but mostly, it is written intentionally for an older audience, and is a million times more enjoyable. It also offers a very candid, honest view at the world of being a personal assistant to someone important (which is impressive for still technically being classified as fiction), and that it's not all fun and games and brushing elbows with the rich and famous. The title of this book rings true in many ways over, and is felt reverberating throughout the entire story.

I absolutely LOVED this book and would re-read it again and again. A big 5 stars to you!

Book Review: "Posh and Prejudice (Diary of a Chav #2)"

The second installment of the Diary of a Chav series, Posh and Prejudice, had a tall order to live up to for being able to even hold a candle to the original...and it delivers. It's consistently funny, deals with realistic problem, and - unlike many of its rivals on the teen book market - has a far more realistic outcome than most. Not to mention, I've grown quite attached to miss Shiraz quite quickly. It's not every day that the main character in a teen novel is quite so vibrant and naturally lovable. Big bonus points for this, and for keeping it consistent from the first book to the next.

The storyline deals with themes such as the difficulties of secondary school, failed relationships, discrimination against the working classes, feeling trapped and wanting a way out of what everyone else around you just blindly accepts as their destiny, etc. The ending of the book totally sidelined me; I did NOT see that coming. But it leaves the door wide open for interesting things to happen in the next book. :)

Unfortunately for me, it'll probably be quite a while before I get a chance to read the rest of the books in this series, as not only does my local library not carry them, but NONE of the libraries in the county have any of the others. :-\ So unless someone can hook me up with the others, I have no idea how long it'll take...which really bums me out, because I've been enjoying these more than just about any other books I've read this whole year. Oh well, what can you do, right? Anyhow, I give this book another huge 5 star rating. :)

Book Review: "So Super Starry"

For a book with a title like So Super Starry, one would assume it to be about Hollywood starlets or the like. Especially with the photos on the cover. So please explain how, exactly, we end up with a very British book about posh, pampered, overly-sheltered English kids who live in their own little private community away from the rest of the world, and the only defining factor between all of them is wealth?

Of course, being a teen book, it's got all the usual ingredients: the main character who feels just a little bit different from everyone else, the popular kids, the outcasts, the bitches, the love interests, etc. In this particular go-round, the main character falls for one of the popular kids/bitch's brother, who has a reputation, blah blah blah. And because he comes from money, everyone makes a big deal out of what this girl ought to be doing to impress him, rather than the old addage of to thine own self be true. Yes, it ends up winning out in the end, but the entire book, it seems, is SO superficial that it's disgusting. Even the main character knows this, and yet it remains the same. Yes, I realize there are people in the world who really live like this, but this story seems to be more a study into the psychology of the superficial than it does a love story between people from opposite ends of the spectrum.

Not to mention, the author's style of writing is so very dry. This was really strange for me, because usually I pounce all over anything that's British, but this....I don't know. I struggled to even make it through the whole book because it kept losing my interest. As such, I feel that I'm being generous by even rating it a 3 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: "The Virginity Club"

The title alone of this book is probably more than enough to stir up controversy. Oh yes, The Virginity Club is one of those books; that no matter which side of the line you stand on, there's probably something between these covers that will end up getting your panties in a bunch. And I'm not immune.

This is by no means a new pet peeve of mine, but personally, it bothers me whenever a book, a film, or anything else decides to force the notion that virginity is something to be ashamed of and should be shaken off as quickly as possible. Let me make it clear: there is NOTHING wrong with virginity, and I don't care what age you are - if you happen to be one, even if you feel like you must be the only one left at your age, trust me. There's PLENTY of others out there who're just as old as you, and older. Whew, okay, got that out of the way. Now, onward.

This book has an almost schizophrenic sort of flip-flopping on the issue. All the girls in this book are vying for the same scholarship; one in which the biggest caveat is that you must be "pure of body and spirit". Not once in this entire book does it end up saying just how that rule is to be enforced. The term is very much open for debate as far as its true meaning goes. Regardless, prior to this scholarship, it seems that most of the girls wanted to lose their virginity ASAP. Then when this came around, oh, of course. It's a different tune now that money's involved. And you have characters from both sides here, ones ridiculing virgins, and ones martyrizing them. Not much for in between the two extremes, either. But that's not all... they also go the opposite extreme and do a TON of slut-shaming. (Yes, that's a real term.) Which makes one think then that the author must, on some level, be more on the side of thinking that virginity is virtuous and should be kept at all costs, but....there's so much in here that contradicts that. Basically, you're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't according to this book. Well what, exactly, is this book trying to convey as a message then? I don't know, and because of that, it seems to have missed its mark majorly. At best, I feel I can only bear to give this book a 3 star rating, and even that feels like it's being generous.

Book Review: "What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know"

First thing's first: let me start out by saying that I generally don't seek out poetry/prose books. Not that I have anything against them - I don't in the least - it just doesn't usually happen. And I had no idea when I picked up this book that it was written as such. What surprises me more, and is completely new to me, is that this author actually wrote a novel-length story out of their poetry and prose. I've never seen a story written that way, so forgive me if I'm being completely naive here, but I found it to be very refreshing and downright intriguing. I honestly never even occurred to me that an author could do that! So, speaking as a writer who has an incredibly hard time writing so much as one little poem, say nothing of a STORY out of them... I'm in absolute awe of this book.

The story too is also intriguing. You almost forget about the ages of the characters, they're so far ahead of their time. Then again, I might be biased, because in school, I felt I basically was a female version of the main character in this story. A social outcast; an avid fan of classic rock; an artist at heart; a hopeless romantic. I felt so much at home reading this that at times, I nearly felt like I was reading back through old diary entries of my own. I really, really enjoyed this one, and highly recommend it! Big 5 star rating!

Book Review: "Hollyweird"

Hollyweird by Terri Clark is a fun little read that's essentially a new spin on the classic good vs. evil tales. 3 girls win a trip out to LA to meet their favorite actor and idol, Dakota Danvers, and be treated to the whole celebrity treatment while they're there. What they don't know is that their idol...is the son of Satan.

But all hope is not lost. Just as unknowingly as they'd gotten mixed up with hell's minion, one of God's fallen angels, Jameson, is provided to them as a protector. They don't know it right away that he's an angel, but in time, the truth is revealed, as is the knowledge that the supernatural world of demons, vampires, witches, werewolves, etc all exist in the underground. Likewise, it's brought to their attention that much of the celebrity world is part of this preternatural existence. (What an interesting thought that would be if it really did work that way?) But Jameson has been given the assignment of being put in charge of defeating Dakota before he unleashes evil on the entire world...and his plans are coming together faster than anyone could possibly think. The only help in the world that he has is that of which he entrusts in the girls.

There's a lot of aspects of this book that remind me of one of my favorite films ever, Stanley Donen's Bedazzled. Good vs. evil, the 7 deadly sins, etc. It all comes into play here in a fresh, modern spin on a classic tale. It's a quirky, easy read (you could easily read it in one sitting if you were so inclined), and I highly recommend it to just about everybody :) 5 star rating!

Book Review: "City Of Angels (The A-List: Hollywood Royalty #3)"

The final book of Zoey Dean's A-List series has now truly drawn to a close...and I must happily say that I was finally impressed with this off-shoot of the original series. If you've read my reviews of the other two books in this trilogy spin-off, you'll know that I felt the other two books left much to be desired and paled vastly in comparison with its mother series. This book, however, makes me a little sad to see it go so soon now. Why couldn't all three have been written as well as this one?? I'd be rooting and cheering for more if they'd all been like this! (I'm tempted to shoot the author an email, asking if there's any chance there might just be one more story left in her to round out these books...perhaps to tie up loose ends a little more, but I'm sure that it's just not in the cards.)

The characters that I'd more or less resented in the past two books, I finally came to love in this one. Especially when it came to the rockstar romance drama of Daisy and Ash, it truly made me yearn for more. In all honesty, I would be beyond thrilled if there were a series just for them out of all this, as I feel that in this book, they became my favorite characters. Maybe I'm a little bit biased, as I once lived a romance verrrrry similar to the one that was outlined here, but that's neither here nor there. Then there's the drama of Jake with Amelie and Jojo, which made me yearn with every ounce of my being to finally see Jake end up with Jojo and get their own happy ending story. Hell, I even wanted to see Myla and Danny hook back up, once and for all, but that wasn't to be, either. (Insert dramatic sigh here.) I just... I feel like I just now finally got into these books, and now it's all over. :( This really bums me out, because this story was written so well. Please, Zoey Dean, write one more for me?

A big 5 star rating to this one!

Book Review: "Sunset Boulevard (The A-List Hollywood Royalty #2)"

Well, we're 2 down, 1 to go for the A-List: Hollywood Royalty trilogy! And I have to admit, I'm somewhat relieved that I'm nearly done with these. I was hoping that my lack of emotional connection to much of any of these characters was just the mark of it being a different series from the original and trying to get into the swing of something new. So far, that doesn't seem to be the case. The author is trying so hard to be hip that most of the characters sort of meld together in a kind of mismatched amalgam of the overly-trendy. Once again, the story mainly revolves around the characters' dating scene, and how they all trade lovers faster than square dance partners. There's also the topic of the filming of a movie taking place at the high school as well as...well, no. Everything else still classifies as relationship drama.

It's dry, kinda boring, and almost totally predictable. Yes, I say this as a 27-year-old reading this book, but at the same time, I can almost guarantee you that the average teen would say the same about this book and that it's not even with its price for the read. Ugh. Rating this one a generous 3 stars.

Book Review: "The A-List: Hollywood Royalty"

Like many a best-selling teen book series, Zoey Dean's The A-List has its own new spin-off: The A-List: Hollywood Royalty. Out with the old, in with the new as far as the cast of characters goes. There's very, *very* subtle references to old characters such as Sam Sharpe, but they are mentioned only in passing and as if you must know who they're speaking of.

The new cast of characters is almost befitting of any given group of Disney channel teen stars in the past decade. And almost all of them, you can practically tell what real celebrity they're based loosely off of. (The most obvious of these is Myla - the name practically heralding to Miley, and the family beckoning the the Brangelina pack.) Unlike the last cast of characters, who at least were a sophisticated sort of Hollywood overpampered teen jet-set, the new ones are just spoiled rotten brats with entitlement issues and nothing but teen dating angst problems.

The entire tone of the book is vastly different from that of the original series as well. (If I didn't know better, I would swear that this were ghost-written by somebody else.) I'm sure that the author was trying to go for something hip, fresh, and new, but it just comes off as typical run of the mill teen novel fodder. Where the original A-List books seemed to be a notch above the rest, bordering on being considered acceptable adult reading material, these are most definitely targeted towards a younger demographic. I'm not sure that I like that. Regardless, there only seems to be two more books in this series so far, and doesn't look like there will be more as far as I can tell as of yet. (Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.) I think I can see why. I'm only rating this book a 3 out of 5 stars - not utterly unreadable, but far from a pleasurable read, I must admit.

Book Review: "California Dreaming (The A-List #10)"

So, we've come to the end of the line of the original A-List series. And it certainly does go out with a bang! A plane crash, the implosion of Ben and Cammie, a wedding, a breakup, family drama, a major medical emergency... you name it, it's in here. As we wave off these characters we've grown to know and love over the past ten books as they ride off into the proverbial sunset, there's a glimmer of sadness in realizing we won't get to see what exactly it is that they'll make of their lives. Or will we...? There's a second A-List series with an all new cast of characters that might just mention in passing the originals, for all we know. There is hope for the future!

I'm rating this book a 5 out of 5 stars. It has anything and everything you could want, from comedy, to romance, to drama, to angst, to...like I said. Everything. It's all in here. Very well written, and a very nice close to the series.

Book Review: "Beautiful Stranger (The A-List #9)

This ninth installment of the A-List series certainly seems to be starting to wind everything down now, now that it's approaching the end of the series.

This book is filled with all sorts of unpredictable twists and turns; Sam gets engaged, Sam falls out of engagement. Ben wants to start a club of his own with the aid of his father, who claims he'll back him in anything. (The dad backs out.) Cammie funds the project. Anna discovers that Yale might not be all that she'd always imagined it was going to be after all. Adam kicks Ben's ass. There's an impromptu trip to NY. And much, much more (you didn't expect me to give everything away, did you? ;)).

Still, you can't read this particular book in the series without that niggling little feeling in the back of your mind knowing that it's getting pretty near the end of the series, and there's a certain sadness that comes along with that. It took me a while to learn to take these characters under my wing, so to speak, but now that I finally have, it seems all too soon that it'll be time to let them go. (Isn't that always the way?) Still, rating this one a 4 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: "Heart Of Glass (The A-List #8)

Oh boy - Heart Of Glass, the 8th installment of Zoey Dean's The A-List is a juicy read if ever I've seen one! Buckle up, kids - it's a bumpy (but thrilling!) ride.

Sam is house-sitting for a famous friend of her family's and invites Cammie and Anna to come keep her company and to enjoy the luxuries of the place on the 4th of July. They decide to go for a walk down the beach behind the house, and they unknowingly trespass into the backyard of one of Cammie's father's worst enemies in the business, who ends up getting no greater joy than busting Cammie and Anna and having them arrested for something as petty as said-trespassing.

Luckily for the girls, they're able to get off fairly easily - no jail time, and the community service that they have to serve is the plushest ever in history: working on helping organize a fashion show that benefits at-risk girls. Not too shabby. They quickly befriend one of the main girls there, Champagne, whom they feel could quite easily have a future in modeling if she just knew the right people. This is where Anna and Cammie step in, and make it their mission to make this girl a something.

Meanwhile, there's plenty of drama in Sam's homestead. Sam suspects that Poppy is cheating on her father with her yoga instructor, which she refuses to tolerate, as she hates the woman to begin with. Knowing that her good friend Parker is an aspiring actor, and knowing full well that she could offer him the deal of the lifetime, she gives him the opportunity to appear in her father's newest big box office film if he'll agree to try to seduce her stepmother, just to test the waters and see how easily she'll stray, so she can get photos taken and leak them to the press. He has a lot of scruples about doing this, but agrees to help.

There's tons more drama in the book as well in the sub-storylines, but I don't want to give everything away as spoilers in this review. ;) All I can say is that this particular book in the series is exceptionally written, and I'm giving it a big 5 stars!