The Duff Review

Goodreads

TITLE: The Duff

AUTHOR: Kody Keplinger

PUBLISHER: Poppy

PUBLICATION DATE: 9/7/2010

FORMAT: ebook

PAGES: 270

SOURCE: Bought

MY RATING:

SUMMARY (FROM GOODREADS): Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn't think she's the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She's also way too smart to fall for the charms of the man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her "the Duff," she throws her Coke in his face.

But things aren't so great at home right now, and Bianca is desperate for a distraction. She ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him.

Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn't such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she's falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: I kept seeing the previews for the Duff movie on tv, so I wanted to read the book before watching the movie. The book is completely different than what I thought it would be. The movie previews make it seem like a light and fluffy comedy kind of movie (I haven't seen the movie yet, so I don't know if that's actually how they made it or not), but the book is actually quite a bit deeper than that. The book deals with some intense issues (body image, divorce, sex). The main theme of this book is body image and how we see ourselves and I feel like that theme was really hit head on in this book.

CHARACTERS: I would have liked a little more character development. I felt like the characters were on the right track, but I wanted a little it more about them. That being said, I really liked Bianca's best friends, Casey and Jessica. They were both really great, genuine friends to Bianca.

COVER: I don't really like the cover. I'm not really sure who the girl on the cover is supposed to be.

Roomies Review

Goodreads

TITLE: Roomies

AUTHOR: Sara Zarr & Tara Altebrando

PUBLISHER: Little, Brown

PUBLICATION DATE: 12/24/2013

PAGES: 279

MY RATING:

BACK COVER SUMMARY: When East Coast native Elizabeth receives her freshman-year roommate assignment, she shoots off an e-mail to coordinate the basics: television, microwave, mini-fridge. That first note to San Franciscan Lauren sparks a series of e-mails that alters the landscape of each girl's summer--and raises questions about how two girls who are so different will ever share a dorm room.

As the countdown to college begins, life at home becomes increasingly complex. With family relationships and childhood friendships strained by change, it suddenly seems that the only people Elizabeth and Lauren can rely on are the complicated new boys in their lives...and each other. Even though they've never met.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: This book brings back some memories for me. I remember getting the information about who my college roommate was going to be and contacting her to figure out who would bring the fridge and who would bring the microwave. That was about all of our communication until we met on moving in day. This book takes it farther and the two girls continue to e-mail each other and form a friendship before they even move in together.

It's a really interesting concept and I love the idea that they are from two completely different worlds. I actually live in the bay area, so I enjoyed hearing the references to the city and places that I have been. It was just really neat hearing about these places I've actually seen.

This is a really quick and light read. I feel like it's a good "palate cleanser" to read between heavier books. While it's not necessary, I'd love to see a short sequel of the girls' interaction and how things go during their first year of college, actually living together. I think that would be fun to read about.

CHARACTERS: I liked both Lauren and Elizabeth. I like how their lives are completely different, but they are still both teenage girls with the same internal issues.

COVER: I like it. It's cute!

**I received an ARC of this book from Amazon Vine for my honest review.

The River Review

Goodreads

TITLE: The River

AUTHOR: Mary Jane Beaufrand

PUBLISHER: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

PUBLICATION DATE: 2/10/2010
PAGES: 224

MY RATING: 

INSIDE COVER SUMMARY: Veronica Severance feels cut off from the world. Forced to move from the city to rural Oregon with her parents, she is haunted by loneliness and the chilling sounds of the Santiam, the river that runs through her backyard.

Through the fog of isolation, Ronnie finds herself becoming close with Karen, a young girl whom she babysits. But when she discovers Karen's body on the banks of the Santiam, Ronnie feels compelled to uncover the truth.

As she becomes increasingly obsessed with solving the mystery of Karen's death, Ronnie is lead deeper and deeper into the dark secret hidden within its midst.

The River is a darkly atmospheric story of murder, isolation, obsession, and deadly secrets that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: I have to say that the beginning and the ending of this book were great. The description of Ronnie (the main character) finding the body was pretty graphic and definitely grossed me out. There was a lot of imagery happening. And the last part of the book was really intense and action packed. The in-between wasn't so great. Now, don't get me wrong, it wasn't terrible, I just feel like it could have been better. I feel like Ronnie made quite a few dumb choices that could have easily been avoided, especially since she seemed like a smart girl.

CHARACTERS: This book needed a lot more character development, but what I read about the characters I did like, I just wish we had some more. I really liked Tomas. He's that rugged on the outside, mushy on the inside type of person.

COVER: I'm not a huge fan of the cover. It just doesn't grab my attention.

The Geography of You and Me Review (may be spoilery)

Goodreads

TITLE: The Geography of You and Me

AUTHOR: Jennifer E. Smith

PUBLISHER: Little, Brown

PUBLICATION DATE: 4/15/2014

PAGES: 352

MY RATING: 

BACK COVER SUMMARY: Lucy and Owen meet somewhere between the tenth and twelfth floors, on an elevator rendered useless by a citywide blackout. After they're rescued, they spend one night together, wandering the darkened streets and marveling at the rare appearance of stars above Manhattan.

But once the power is restored, so is reality. Lucy soon moves to Edinburgh with her parents, while Owen heads out west with his father. Their relationship plays out across the globe as they stay in touch through postcards, e-mails, and a reunion in the city where they first met.

In this carefully charted map of a long-distance relationship, Jennifer E. Smith shows that the center of the world isn't necessarily a place. Sometimes, it can be a person.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: This book let me down quite a bit. I had such high hopes for it. I really loved the first few chapters, and then it just went downhill. 

I loved the interaction between Lucy and Owen and I would have loved to have more of it. This could have been an amazing story about a long distance relationship where the two characters kept in touch and wrote each other detailed letters and post cards (and it would have been really neat to actually read the letters and postcards throughout the story), but the book just didn't deliver any of that. There was very little interaction between Owen and Lucy during most of the book. They were living two totally separate lives (which would have been fine if we had seen more interaction with letter, etc) and there isn't really a story going on here. It almost seemed like this should have been two separate books. 

It did come together a little more towards the end of the book, but I just didn't really enjoy it.

CHARACTERS: Both main characters (Lucy and Owen) were good characters. I could relate to each of them and I understood what they were feeling about their lives. I think they would have been great to read about if this story had been different.

COVER: The cover is adorable and I love it. I love the font, the skyline in the background and all of the stars.

**I received an ARC of this book from Amazon Vine for my honest review.

Beautiful Creatures Review

TITLE: Beautiful Creatures

AUTHORS: Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

PUBLISHER:  Little, Brown and Company

PUBLICATION DATE:

PAGES: 563

MY RATING: 

INSIDE COVER SUMMARY: Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps, and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: This was my second time reading Beautiful Creatures. I read it a while ago (back in 2010 before I started reviewing books), but I wanted to read it again before the movie came out. I really enjoyed reading it. The book mainly focuses on the love story between Lena and Ethan, but there are still a lot of events and action happening throughout.  I never found myself bored at any point in the book and was constantly making time to read this. I haven't seen the movie yet, but when I do I may come back and update this post with my thoughts.

CHARACTERS: I like Ethan's attitude throughout the book. He doesn't care what everyone else thinks, even though he's supposed to be the "hot-shot" star basketball player.  He is very faithful and encouraging to Lena. I also really like the character of Link, Ethan's best friend. He accepts Ethan's choices and doesn't abandon him when the rest of their group of friends does.

COVER: I like the cover. It is simple and I love the font used for the title.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone Review

TITLE: Daughter of Smoke and Bone

AUTHOR: Laini Taylor

PUBLISHER: Little, Brown and Company

PUBLICATION DATE: 9/27/2011

PAGES: 418

MY RATING: 5 Stars

INSIDE COVER BLURB: Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark an dusty sho, a devil's supply of human teeth grows dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherworldly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she speaks many languages -- not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

From master storyteller and National Book Award finalist Laini Taylor comes a sweeping and gorgously written modern fantasy about a forbidden love, an ancient and epic battle, and hop for a world remade.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: Amazing! That's the best word to describe this book. It's fun, exciting, fast paced and all around a wonderful read. The writing in this book is magical. Taylor has a way of describing things that puts you into her world. Here's a quote that I fell in love with near the beginning of the book:

"She had been innocent once, a little girl playing with feathers on the floor of a devil's lair. She wasn't innocent now, but she didn't know what to do about it. This was her life: magic and shame and secrets and teeth and a deep, nagging hollow at the center of herself where something was most certainly missing." (page 45).

I have a love-hate relationship with the ending of this book. It was so good, but I need to know what's going to happen next, right now! I can't wait for the next book!

CHARACTERS: The story is set in Prague, so the names of the characters are not names I am used to hearing, so it took me a minute to get used to that, but it wasn't a huge deal. Karou just seems like an ordinary girl. She's trying to figure herself out and learn where she came from. She's very fun and is someone I would love to be around. My favorite character in this book is Zuzana - Karou's best friend. She's cute and sweet and very loyal to Karou. I would have liked to have more of her in the book. Akiva is also a good character, but I don't want to spoil anything so I'll let you find out why on your own.

COVER: Just like the book -- amazing! I love the vibrant blue color and I love how the mask ties in with the masquerade party that occurs in the story.

Look for the next book coming out in November!