By The Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead Review

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(More customer reviews)I was not expecting this, specially in such a short read. This book is so harsh. And raw. And wrong. And cruel. And depressing. And sick. Oh, and I loved, loved, loved it. Even though my stomach sometimes didn't. I had physical ache while reading, that's how amazing it was. Seriously, I believe every person alive should read it. If you dare to read something so heart-wrenching that will most likely stick with you. It leaves a great message.
The world is a freaking messed up place, no need to hide that. This may be a hard read, but only because it's so real that it hurts. The characters in the book were magnificent. The guy, Santana, I've never been so in love with a realistic-fiction character before. I wanted to tear him out of the book. He will steal your heart and keep it. The writing was good, felt awkward at times, but worked perfectly.
If you think you can take reading about bullying and suicide (Bullycide) you must go pick this up right now. If you read Hate List (Jennifer Brown) and liked it, I think you will find this one really interesting too.

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Daelyn Rice is broken beyond repair, and after a string of botched suicide attempts, she's determined to get her death right. She starts visiting a website for 'completers"- www.through-the-light .com. While she's on the site, Daelyn blogs about her life, uncovering a history of bullying that goes back to kindergarten. When she's not on the Web, Daelyn's at her private school, where she's known as the freak who doesn't talk.Then, aboy named Santana begins to sit with herafter school while she's waiting to for her parents to pick her up. Even though she's made it clear that she wants to be left alone, Santanawon't give up. And it's too late for Daelyn to be letting people into her life'isn't it?National Book Award finalist Julie Anne Peters shines a light on how bullying can push young people to the very edge.

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Ten Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn't Have) Review

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(More customer reviews)It starts off in a The Hangover-like way when April is jolted awake by her police siren ringtone (her dad's) to find a guy (who is not her boyfriend) laying next to her, and a mess of a house (beer cans and chips everywhere) and two barely dressed guys (one wearing a tiara) sprawled and snoring on the couch. And her dad calls to say he's fifteen minutes away as a birthday surprise. Can you tell I was hooked from there? Because I could barely blink.
The writing was easy going and the characters were very likable and fun. I was slightly flinching throughout the whole book from how real everything seemed. I was not a huge fan of the time-hoping bits. April went back and forth between time-frames and it felt a bit disorienting from time to time, but it did fit with the plot quite well, I just felt transitions could have been slightly smoother and clearer. But it worked.
It was unbelievably fun to read. I would laugh out loud from time to time and slap my hand on my forehead on other times too. April made so many understandably stupid decisions, that you just want to reach out and shake her, while knowing you might have done that same thing. Sarah Mlynowski is a genius on realistic teenage portrayal.
Overall, a very sassy tale of things we shouldn't do that ironically make our lives that much enjoyable and cool. A book you should not miss if you love fun contemporary YA.

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2 girls + 3 guys + 1 house – parents = 10 things April and her friends did that they (definitely, maybe, probably) shouldn't have.

If given the opportunity, what sixteen-year-old wouldn't jump at the chance to move in with a friend and live parent-free? Although maybe "opportunity" isn't the right word, since April had to tell her dad a tiny little untruth to make it happen (see #1: "Lied to Our Parents"). But she and her housemate Vi are totally responsible and able to take care of themselves. How they ended up "Skipping School" (#3), "Throwing a Crazy Party" (#8), "Buying a Hot Tub" (#4), and, um, "Harboring a Fugitive" (#7) at all is kind of a mystery to them.

In this hilarious and bittersweet tale, Sarah Mlynowski mines the heart and mind of a girl on her own for the first time. To get through the year, April will have to juggle a love triangle, learn to do her own laundry, and accept that her carefully constructed world just might be falling apart . . . one thing-she-shouldn't-have-done at a time.

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Between Shades of Gray Review

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(More customer reviews)It's been a long time since a book has touched me as much as this one has. I stayed up late to finish it and even though I was so tired I could not fall asleep for awhile because I could not stop thinking about the story. The story was haunting and heartbreaking.
I have read The Diary of Anne Frank several times and in fact just re-read it this year and I'm sure that is one of the most well known accounts from a victim of the Holocaust and really helped put a face on the victims. I felt like this book did the same for me about the victims of Stalin's deportations. This topic was something that I studied when I took Russian in high school and Russian History in college but I did not truly feel the horrors these people went through during Stalin's reign. It's made all the worse when you read that Sepetys based some of the events in the book from stories that actual survivors recounted to her.
The story is told from the point of view of Lina and the passages alternate between what is happening to her in the present and happier memories from her past. Through her observations we see how different people reacted to their circumstances. Some were defeated and gave up all hope where as others were determined to survive whatever the Soviets did to them. The circumstances brought out such acts of depravity and at the same time unbelievable depths of kindness from unexpected sources that you have to wonder how would you react in their positions.
If you have never read about the re-locations that Stalin ordered of the native people of countries like Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and other countries that the Soviet Union annexed then you have to read this book. The writing was entrancing and will keep you glued to the book until the very end. It's really hard to put into words just how amazing this book is but I highly recommend it to everyone. I'd even go so far as to say if there is only one book you will read this year, this should be it.

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Where She Went Review

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(More customer reviews)Why I Read this Book: This book is a must read for anyone who's read If I Stay. In fact, if you've already read If I Stay, chances are you been anxiously awaiting the release for the sequel. There was a pretty big cliffhanger at the end of If I Stay and if you're like me, you need to know what happens next. And you get that closure in Where She Went.
What I Liked: If I Stay was a great emotional and thought-provoking read. And because I was late jumping on the reading bandwagon (I didn't read that book until late last year), lucky for me I didn't have too long to wait for the answers that are found in Where She Went. If I Stay was first published in January of 2009, so some people have been waiting over 2 years for closure. Well wait no more, the time has finally come! Today is release day for Where She Went.
I really liked that this book was told from Adam's POV (1st person narrative). If I Stay was completely Mia's story; her traumatic experience, her story, her flashbacks. In Where She Went, we finally get Adam's side of the story; from back when Mia was in a coma from the accident until now, 3 years later. It was good to see where and how Adam and Mia each ended up 3 years after her tragic accident.
Adam pours his heart and emotions into his lyrics and shares them with the world. Every other chapter leads with a sampling of Adam's lyrics. Angst, torment and bitter emotions drip from his words.
One of my favorite lines (that accurately describes Mia's present journey) is Gran's theory on why Mia was afraid of butterflies when she was younger:"She said it was because one day I was going to have to go through a metamorphosis like a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly and that scared me, so butterflies scared me."What I Didn't Like: Adam was a bit annoying at times with his whining. His character has had to grieve and he's had some growing up to do. He knows that Mia hasn't had an easy road but the void is not easy for him to digest.
Overall Impression: Where She Went is a great companion novel. I got the emotional read I was expecting and the closure I needed. Gayle Forman brings a wide range of emotions to these pages, even the raw and gritty kind, and sometimes they come in waves. Have the tissues ready.

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It's been three years since the devastating accident . . . three years since Mia walked out of Adam's life forever. Now living on opposite coasts, Mia is Juilliard's rising star and Adam is LA tabloid fodder, thanks to his new rock star status and celebrity girlfriend. When Adam gets stuck in New York by himself, chance brings the couple together again, for one last night. As they explore the city that has become Mia's home, Adam and Mia revisit the past and open their hearts to the future - and each other. Told from Adam's point of view in the spare, lyrical prose that defined If I Stay, Where She Went explores the devastation of grief, the promise of new hope, and the flame of rekindled romance.

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