Always Never Yours by Emily Wibberly and Austin Siefmund-Broka

Summary from Goodreads:

Megan Harper is the girl before. All her exes find their one true love right after dating her. It’s not a curse or anything, it’s just the way things are, and Megan refuses to waste time feeling sorry for herself. Instead, she focuses on pursuing her next fling, directing theatre, and fulfilling her dream school’s acting requirement in the smallest role possible.

But her plans quickly crumble when she’s cast as none other than Juliet–yes, that Juliet–in her high school’s production. It’s a nightmare. No–a disaster. Megan’s not an actress and she’s certainly not a Juliet. Then she meets Owen Okita, an aspiring playwright who agrees to help Megan catch the eye of a sexy stagehand in exchange for help writing his new script.

Between rehearsals and contending with her divided family, Megan begins to notice Owen–thoughtful, unconventional, and utterly unlike her exes, and wonders: shouldn’t a girl get to play the lead in her own love story?

Review:

What a charming, wonderful debut! I loved this book and ate it up like ice cream. I had a surprise day off when the air conditioning at works stopped working on the hottest day of the year. And after a very hot, stressful morning, I went home and read this book in one cool, central a/c sitting. Seriously though, this book has all the makings of Jenny Han, Stephanie Perkins, and Becky Albertalli. It’s YA contemporary gold.

There’s a main character who’s openly flirty and confident in her sexuality! Yes. Finally, a main character who’s not afraid of relationships. Yes, I relate to the teen girls who are hesitant and afraid because I was…but it’s so refreshing to have a confident, flirty heroine too.

I loved all the theater drama (aka: the hookups, parties, love triangles, etc). It was like catnip for me. Add in the spunky, confidant Megan, and I was hooked from page 1. I love that friendships were more if not equally important to Megan as her romantic relationships. She worked so hard to keep things going with her best friend. And I loved that she was so close to her ex even though he pretty much explains that she is the one who really made him realize he’s gay. She fights for her friends. And she fights with them. Everything about this felt so real.

I loved watching Megan become Juliette and excel at acting too. She deserved to be center stage sometimes too. And I loved that the people in her life wanted her to have that spotlight. I found the family drama interesting too. It may have been the only part of the book I felt needed a little more time…but still I was hooked on that too.

And I loved the romance. I loved Owen. I shipped them from the beginning. I love romances that start off in the friend zone. I loved their banter and open communication. I love that they both could tease each other and knew just what to say to embarrass one another. I loved them. All in all, this is the perfect binge-worthy summer contemporary romance. And I’m so glad I picked this up when I did. I give it a 10/10.

Bob by Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead

Summary from Goodreads:

It’s been five years since Livy and her family have visited Livy’s grandmother in Australia. Now that she’s back, Livy has the feeling she’s forgotten something really, really important about Gran’s house.

It turns out she’s right.

Bob, a short, greenish creature dressed in a chicken suit, didn’t forget Livy, or her promise. He’s been waiting five years for her to come back, hiding in a closet like she told him to. He can’t remember who—or what—he is, where he came from, or if he even has a family. But five years ago Livy promised she would help him find his way back home. Now it’s time to keep that promise.

Clue by clue, Livy and Bob will unravel the mystery of where Bob comes from, and discover the kind of magic that lasts forever.

Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead, two masterminds of classic, middle-grade fiction come together to craft this magical story about the enduring power of friendship.

Review:

I had a feeling I was going to love this one. How could I not a love book written by two of my favorite middle grade authors? I love when two people you love come together and work on something magical. And Bob was magical.

I loved Livy and Bob. Livy felt like such a real person. I love that she was flawed, but also so good. She kept her promise to Bob, even though she didn’t remember making it. I loved how it made me nostalgic for my childhood. It really made me remember things I thought were long forgotten. I remember placing outside, playing with dolls, and having so much freedom to do what I wanted. I remember walking like a chicken, and bumping down the stairs, too.

Besides just putting me in a nostalgic, happy mood, this book was also a fun mystery. I had to know where Bob came from. I needed answers. I love how everything in the story is connected. The water, Bob, the farms, the chickens, the neighbors, the books, and the community. Everything is connected.

This is a short book, but for some reason I didn’t think I’d read it this quickly. I read it in one sitting. And it was hard to put down. I stayed up past my bedtime finishing this and I’m glad I did. It gave me happy dreams. This is a fast-paced endearing read. It was charming, mysterious, magical, and real all at the same time. I loved the characters, the setting, and the story. I can’t really come up with anything negative to say. This gets a 10/10.

A Good Week in books (188)

This may be the only time I’ve ever written one of these posts without receiving any new books for review or purchase. Why am I doing this then? Two reasons. 1: I had to share that I read 4 books this week. It was maybe one of the most stressful workweeks I’ve ever had, so I was a reading frenzy in any spare time. I read one middle grade, two YA contemporaries, and one YA fantasy. 2: I went to Boston Comic Con this past weekend. Actually, I guess they changed the name to Boston Fan Expo….but we all still call it Comic Con. And purchased a bunch of super geeky/bookish related things.

The highlights of this year’s Comic Con for me were: meeting James and Oliver Phelps (the actors who played the Weasley twins in the Harry Potter movies), attending a Buffy the Vampire “Once More with Feeling” live sing-along with the boyfriend, and going to a Q&A panel for Freddie Prinze Jr, with my good friend (and fellow librarian), Casey.

Meeting and getting my photo taken with the Phelps twins was surreal….I asked them to give me bunny ears, and of course they did. They were so polite, and British. And also, they just seemed genuinely kind and excited to be there (for what was day 3 for them). Being in a room filled with Buffy fans singing their hearts out was also pretty surreal. And I guess that’s what makes these cons as special as they are really –being surrounded by people who love the same things you do. And I have to own up to the fact that I was kinda obsessed with Freddie Prinze Jr. when I was a kid. He may have been my first celebrity crush, and I may have had a giant collage of him….It was cool to see how he’s a part of the comic con culture too (with his voice work in Star Wars Rebels and popular video games). And his stories about growing up were surprisingly fascinating and hilarious.

On to the other awesome thing about Comic Con, the shopping! Here’s all the geeky loot I purchased. I also have to mention that I’m super proud of myself for not buying any artwork because Nick and I finally finished getting frames and hanging all the stuff we have already had.

-Free Newbury Comics glass (we were in the right place at the right time for that!)
-Dementor Repellant soap dispenser
-First set of geeky earrings: Pride and Prejudice books, Thomas the Tank Engine, Totoro, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows books
-Photo of me and the Weasley twins!
-Star Wars bathroom hand towels: “I love you,” and “I know.”
-Set of four coasters from four fictional places: Three Broomsticks, Milliways: The Restaurant at the end of the Universe, Upside-down, and Luke’s Diner
-Second set of geeky earrings: R2-D2, Hedwig, and Kiki’s Delivery Service
-Third set of geeky earrings: Harry Potter glasses/lightning bolts and Buffy the Vampire Slayer

How was your week in books?

The Trials of Apollo: The Burning Maze by Rick Riordan

Summary from Goodreads:

The formerly glorious god Apollo, cast down to earth in punishment by Zeus, is now an awkward mortal teenager named Lester Papadopoulos. In order to regain his place on Mount Olympus, Lester must restore five Oracles that have gone dark. But he has to achieve this impossible task without having any godly powers and while being duty-bound to a confounding young daughter of Demeter named Meg. Thanks a lot, Dad.

With the help of some demigod friends, Lester managed to survive his first two trials, one at Camp Half-Blood, and one in Indianapolis, where Meg received the Dark Prophecy. The words she uttered while seated on the Throne of Memory revealed that an evil triumvirate of Roman emperors plans to attack Camp Jupiter. While Leo flies ahead on Festus to warn the Roman camp, Lester and Meg must go through the Labyrinth to find the third emperor—and an Oracle who speaks in word puzzles—somewhere in the American Southwest. There is one glimmer of hope in the gloom-filled prophecy: The cloven guide alone the way does know. They will have a satyr companion, and Meg knows just who to call upon.

Review:

The weird thing about Rick Riordan books is that I always have to talk them up to make myself excited for them. I’ve never not finished one of the books. And they always keep me riveted in suspense. So, I’m not really certain as to why I don’t just jump into them right away. Maybe it’s the need to remember all the stories that came before (there are a lot of them), or maybe it’s the formula I’ve gotten so used to. Regardless, I almost always love his books, and this was no exception.

Riordan definitely has the whole suspense thing down. There were moments I literally had to postpone plans, so I could keep reading. I love the introduction to new mythological creatures and characters also. I was fascinated by the bad guy this time around: Caligula. Oh, and I also loved the prophetess who spoke in crossword puzzles. I feel like I might have actually survived the high stakes adventures here because I love crossword puzzles.

And I guess what I love even more than Riordan’s introductions to new mythology and high stakes, suspenseful adventures, are his characters. I have grown to love Apollo, and I never really thought I would. I was always entertained by him, sure. But, I never expected to love him. He has won me over. And with each book, as I’m sure is intended, he becomes more human, more loveable, and more endeering.

I also love all the connections in this series, to series of the past. Past characters return, help out, and battle. Spoiler sentence ahead: One past loved character even dies. As I said on Goodrads, I wasn’t expecting to feel such sadness in a humorous book. Again, this is Riordan at his best. He has me laughing out loud one moment, jaw literally dropping in shock another moment, and tears of sadness another moment.

I did feel like there were a few preachy kind of moments about the environment. And I guess they mostly made sense in the context, but I didn’t like that. I never feel like books for this age group should be preachy. Maybe one or two mentions of mass climate change and human destruction is okay…but more than that, and I can see some young people putting this down. We don’t read these books for that.  We read them for adventure, mythology, suspense, great characters, magic, and love.

All in all, I really enjoyed this one. I can’t wait to keep reading Apollo’s story. Hopefully, the next one is a little bit happier? I’m excited to reunite with the characters who will come (mentioned at the end). I give this a 9/10.

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

Summary from Goodreads:

Seventeen-year-old Alice and her mother have spent most of Alice’s life on the road, always a step ahead of the uncanny bad luck biting at their heels. But when Alice’s grandmother, the reclusive author of a cult-classic book of pitch-dark fairy tales, dies alone on her estate, the Hazel Wood, Alice learns how bad her luck can really get: her mother is stolen away―by a figure who claims to come from the Hinterland, the cruel supernatural world where her grandmother's stories are set. Alice's only lead is the message her mother left behind: “Stay away from the Hazel Wood.”

Alice has long steered clear of her grandmother’s cultish fans. But now she has no choice but to ally with classmate Ellery Finch, a Hinterland superfan who may have his own reasons for wanting to help her. To retrieve her mother, Alice must venture first to the Hazel Wood, then into the world where her grandmother's tales began―and where she might find out how her own story went so wrong.

Review:

So, I think my expectations were too high for this one. I didn’t hate it. Other librarians recommended it to me. And I kept reading positive review after positive review for it. I guess I was expecting a dark, fantastical mystery with plenty of fairy tale elements and suspense. I kind of got that, I guess, at least in the second half.

The first half was extraordinarily slow. I kept waiting for something to happen to draw me in, and it took way too long. I almost stopped reading the book entirely a couple of times. But, then, half way through, it finally picked up and I’m glad I continued to read this.

I think my biggest problem with the book was the lack of character development. I never really got to know Alice all that well. And what I did get to know of her, I never really liked. She was angry and judgmental of everything and everyone. She had a weird and unfair upbringing, sure….but I never really had the chance to agree with her or feel sorry for her. There wasn’t a lot to her-besides hostility and a strange addiction to her absent mother.

I also never really got to know Alice’s mother. She defended her over and over to the point of overkill and all I really got to see of their relationship was a few brief flashbacks, none of which were that pleasant…Why was such an angry girl so devoted to a mother that chose terrible men over her all the time? I just didn’t get the characters…I certainly didn’t get Alice’s motivations.

There is a reason you can use to describe Alice’s two dimensional-ness, and I’d even let it slide (spoiler ahead); she’s supposed to have the characteristics of a dark character from a story. It just wasn’t enough for me.

Where Melissa Albert excelled brilliantly though was in her setting and mystery. I felt like I was in the Hazel Wood with Alice. I also loved the NYC setting too. And the mystery of it all with the generations of women and the stories, and the recluse author, and the fairy tale characters come to life was just spot on. The vibe was creepy. And these elements of the stories could almost make up for a total lack of character development.

Unfortunately for me, I’m a character reader and not having the development got in the way of my enjoyment of the whole thing. I did appreciate the dark ending. Honestly, I loved the setting and the darkness of it all. I enjoyed the mystery to it too. The lack of character development though is why I’m giving this a 7/10 (and if I even got to know just Alice a little more, it could have been a 10/10).

A Good Week in Books (187)

I have reached the point of summer when Youth Services Librarians tend to refer to themselves as zombies. I love Summer Reading and summer programming, and I’m always super excited for it to start. But, now I am very much an exhausted zombie. The end is in sight though, so all is good. 2 more weeks is totally doable.

To handle the craziness, I have definitely been reading a lot. I finished 1 YA fantasy and 1 MG fantasy this week. I also finished a whole adult audio book. I am on a roll! Never am I more grateful for books than in summer. I received 2 new ones for review (thank you, Henry Holt and Swoon Reads). And I may have needed a little retail therapy…after the week I had and bought myself 6 new books….

The new pretties:

We’ll Always have Summer by Jenny Han
It’s not Summer Without You by Jenny Han
The Summer I turned Pretty by Jenny Han
The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James
Royals by Rachel Hawkins
Love and Luck by Jenna Evans Welch
Dance of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson
Between Frost and Fury by Chani Lynn Feener

How was your week in books?

Invisible Ghosts by Robyn Schneider

Summary from Goodreads:

Rose Asher believes in ghosts. She should, since she has one for a best friend: Logan, her annoying, Netflix-addicted brother, who is forever stuck at fifteen. But Rose is growing up, and when an old friend moves back to Laguna Canyon and appears in her drama class, things get complicated.

Jamie Aldridge is charming, confident, and a painful reminder of the life Rose has been missing out on since her brother's death. She watches as Jamie easily rejoins their former friends--a group of magnificently silly theater nerds--while avoiding her so intensely that it must be deliberate.

Yet when the two of them unexpectedly cross paths, Rose learns that Jamie has a secret of his own, one that changes everything. Rose finds herself drawn back into her old life--and to Jamie. But she quickly starts to suspect that he isn't telling her the whole truth.

All Rose knows is that it's becoming harder to choose between the boy who makes her feel alive and the brother she isn't ready to lose.

Review:

This was another remarkably quick read for me. The premise intrigued me because I’m currently writing my own ghost story book. I decided to read it because of how similar a concept it was to my own story. But, I think I kept reading this book actually because of how insanely different it is.

As I said on Goodreads, I liked this a lot more than I thought I would. It's my first book by this author. And I think I own her other two and am super tempted to read everything now. But it's definitely one of those YA books where I wish I could slap the main character and be like, "You have to see this!""

Her brother’s ghost was controlling, manipulative, and holding her back back in so many ways. Now that I think about it, I didn’t really see too many redeeming qualities to Logan. And maybe that’s more of my problem. I get that Rose was harboring some serious guilt for his sudden death. And I get that Logan was harboring his own guilt and need to stay and watch out for her. But….their relationship was so one-sided and not healthy.

I guess it’s a different experience for me to read about an unhealthy brother/sister relationship versus a romantic one. And it’s actually the romantic interest that is like, “He’s no good for you.” That difference in YA tropes made this book stand out for me in a good way. It also kind of made the sibling relationship the center of it all, not the romantic relationship. And I liked that some things were more important than romance, things like family.

That being said, I wish I got to see more of the connection between Rose and her brother. Logan just always appeared as a nuisance or a bully. I didn’t really feel like Rose’s guilt was enough for her to be fighting for Logan as hard as she was. I needed to see the positives of the sibling relationship more than I was able to.

I liked the side plots with the school play and the two friend groups at school. I found that all to be super real and relatable. And I loved the romance. I used to dream about an old crush returning to the neighborhood and admitting his love for me. Who hasn’t?

I like that Rose finally understands some things at the end. But, it took her sooooooo long, and maybe invisible slaps from me. And then she kind of comes to terms with it all super fast. She goes from 0-60 in a second. And I’m not sure that felt real to me. I kind of think she should have gradually come to her decision over time. That would have been more believable to me.

Still though, I did enjoy this one a lot. I read it super fast. I liked the side plots. I like the ghost story. I loved the romance. I kind of wanted to like Rose more than I did. And I maybe internally slapped her while reading. I still give this an 8/10.