Review: My Girl

TITLE: My Girl
AUTHOR: Patricia Hermes
PUBLISHER: Pocket Books
PUBLICATION DATE: 1991
FORMAT: Mass Market Paperback
PAGES: 192
SOURCE: Bought
MY RATING: 

SUMMARY (FROM GOODREADS): When your Dad's an undertaker, you Mom's in heaven, and your Grandma's got a screw loose...it's good to have a friend who understands you. Even if he is a boy.

Thomas J. is Vada's best friend. They live near enough to each other to bike ride over and play, or even just hang out. The two are always together, sharing their afternoons, their adventures in the lake, and all of their secrets. Then something terrible happens to Thomas J. and Vada has to learn to fill her days without her best friend around.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: I have only seen bits and pieces of the movie, never actually watching it all the way through, but I knew a little bit about the story line and when I found the book at a thrift store, I decided to pick it up and give it a try. It's a really short book so it didn't take long to read at all. I enjoyed reading it. It was a quick read to cleanse my palate after reading some longer books. The story was fun but also sad and emotional.

CHARACTERS: The characters in this book seemed very real to me. I could picture these kids running around together. The things they did seems very likely things that kids do. I wasn't a fan of Vada's father though. I understand that he was probably fed up with her hypochondria, but she was obviously fighting for his attention because her mother was gone. I just feel that he could have taken more time with her to explain things and just spend time with her.

COVER: The cover is fine. It's taken from the movie, which the book was actually written after the movie instead of the other way around.

Early Review: Gemina

TITLE: Gemina (The Illuminae Files #2)
AUTHORS: Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
PUBLISHER: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
PUBLICATION DATE: 10/18/2016
FORMAT: ARC
PAGES: 608
SOURCE: Amazon Vine/Publisher
MY RATING:


SUMMARY (FROM GOODREADS): Moving to a space station at the edge of the galaxy was always going to be the death of Hanna's social life. Nobody said it might actually get her killed.

The sci-fi saga that began with the breakout bestseller Illuminae continues on board the Jump Station Heimdall, where two new characters will confront the next wave of the BeiTech assault.

Hanna is the station captain's pampered daughter; Nike the reluctant member of a notorious crime family. But while the pair are struggling with the realities of life aboard the galaxy's most boring space station, little do they know that Kady Grant and the Hypatia are headed right toward Heimdall, carrying news of the Kerenza invasion.

When an elite BeiTech strike team invades the station, Hanna and Nik are thrown together to defend their home. But alien predators are picking off the station residents one by one, and a malfunction in the station's wormhole means the space-time continuum might be ripped in two before dinner. Soon Hanna and Nik aren't just fighting for their own survival; the fate of everyone on the Hypatia--and possibly the known universe--is in their hands.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: I wasn't a huge fan of the first book in this series, but I liked the format and the way that the story was told so I wanted to give the sequel a try. I'm glad that I decided to go ahead and read this one, but I ended up really enjoying it quite a bit more than I expected to. I felt like there was more action and it was more intense.

CHARACTERS: I enjoyed the characters in this book more than the characters in the first book. I really liked Hanna. She was such a cool character. She's smart, tough and can take care of herself, which she proves over and over.

COVER: The cover is really nice. I like the shades of blue.

**I received an ARC of this book from Amazon Vine/The publisher for my honest review. All opinions are my own and have not been influenced in any way.**

Review: Famous in Love

TITLE: Famous in Love
AUTHOR: Rebecca Serle
PUBLISHER: Macmillan Children's Books
PUBLICATION DATE: 10/23/2014
FORMAT: Paperback
PAGES: 309
SOURCE: Publisher
MY RATING: 

SUMMARY (FROM GOODREADS): She fell in love with him in the books--now she has the chance to star opposite him in the film...

Paige doesn't think she's particularly special, but after getting the starring role in a massive film adaptation of the bestselling Locked trilogy, the rest of the world would disagree. Now she's thrown into the spotlight, and into a world of gossip, rumour and deceit. The only people who know what she's going through are her two male co-stars, and they can't stand the sight of each other. Paige knows it's a mistake to fall in love on the set of a movie, but days of on-screen romance and intensity start to change her mind. The question is, can she keep what happens behind the scenes a secret when the world is watching her every move?

OVERALL IMPRESSION: I needed something light, fluffy and quick to pull me out of my slight reading slump and this book did the trick. I really enjoyed reading it. It was a lot of fun following Paige around and wondering what was going to happen next and speculating how the movie would turn out.

The ending has me a little torn. I don't really agree with Paige's choice and I'm not entirely sure I understand what she's really doing. I'm looking forward to picking up the sequel soon to see what happens next and finally see what Paige is going to do.

CHARACTERS: I didn't feel like there was a lot of character development in this book. I liked our main character, Paige, but I don't really feel that I know her as well as I could. I'm hoping that the next book in the series will have more insight into who all of these characters are.

Also, just a warning, there is a love triangle in this book. I really can't stand love triangles, but I didn't know there was going to be one in this story and I was already too far in to stop reading.

COVER: The cover is cute. I like the color.