Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

Set over the course of one school year in 1986, ELEANOR AND PARK is the story of two star-crossed misfits – smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember your own first love – and just how hard it pulled you under.

Words cannot accurately convey how much I love this book. I was way late to the Eleanor and Park fangirling party (I first read the book in June). However, I am so there right now. I had heard countless praise about this book so I was extremely excited to read it. Eleanor and Park more than lived up to the hype. I couldn’t put this book down. Rainbow Rowell’s writing is hopeful and heartbreaking and unforgettable. Her characters fly off the page, and you can’t help but relate to them.

Eleanor and Park were both fan-freaking-tastic characters. They were both ridiculously easy to relate to, and I immediately felt a connection towards them. I loved the connection that they had to each other, and to music. Eleanor’s home life sucked, but she prevailed and was fantastic. Park is lovely and sweet and awkward. He tries to rebel and though it totally works on his parents, readers will just fall more in love with him. My favorite thing about these two characters is how they interact with each other. Eleanor and Park was the sweetest, saddest, yet most hopeful novel I have read in a long time. Eleanor and Park’s relationship with each other is unforgettable. It perfectly captures the awkward high school years, where you don’t know if you want to be alone or if you want to share your high school life with someone. I honestly have no complaints about any of the characters. I loved them all so much, even the ones who I disliked (in terms of personality).

I have no idea what to say about this book, besides the fact that you should go out and buy it right this instant. Yes, this book caused tons of hype. Yes, that will probably make a lot of you weary to pick it up. However, the hype is more than worth it. You will never want to forget Eleanor and Park- and you never will. Even months after first reading it, I keep finding myself going back to re-read Rowell’s brilliant prose. Rainbow Rowell has almost instantaneously become one of my favorite authors. Her characters are witty and relatable, and her writing is beautiful. Eleanor and Park is a must-read for everyone.

FTC- Bought.

My Quest To Do All Of The Things aka School is Starting

I’m writing this on the eve of my first day of school, and it will be posted on my first day of school. So, hello from the past!

This post is just a little update to tell you all that I’m starting school again and because of that, I may not be very active on twitter or any other social networking sites. However, let’s be honest, I will probably be on twitter a lot because I love procrastinating. I’m starting my senior year of High School (eeeep!), which means that life will be even crazier than usual. However, I’m still going to be doing all of the book things that I regularly do. And here is a list that rounds those things up- (1) This blog which is basically my baby (2) Interning for the lovely Sarah Ockler, whose books you should read (3) Interning for the lovely Daisy Whitney, whose books you should also read (4) being an Editorial Assistant at Teen Eyes Editorial (5) setting up book festivals and moderating literary events and fangirling like a madwomen (6) being a reading intern for the new and lovely Creston Books.

My school schedule this year is the craziest it’s every been. I’m taking 3 AP classes, an Honors class, and then two normal classes (but those normal classes are Pre-Calculus and Shakespeare, so they will still be crazy). I’m also hoping to get an actual job at some point, and also join clubs because this introvert should really branch out some more.

I was going to make this post longer, but I’m tired and I should really go to bed so I’m not late on the first day of school.

That being said, despite being busy, I still LOVE to hear from all of you. You can email me, or tweet to me (@zoealea). We can talk books, TV, movies, or anything else. I love talking to all of you because you are awesome.

xoxo

Playing With Her Heart by Lauren Blakely

** This book contains some sexual content that isn’t appropriate for younger audiences.**

When you’re acting the role of a lifetime, how can you know if love is real—or all just a part of the show?
Twenty-three year old rising theatre star Jill McCormick has built a life out of pretending. Pretending she’s happy, pretending her long-distance crushes add up to something real, pretending she’s not haunted by the dark secret that shattered her world six years ago. Cast in her first Broadway show, she desperately needs to keep her façade intact, but that’s before she comes face to face with her devastating new boss…
Hot-shot director Davis Milo knows the first rule of directing: never fall for your leading lady. Captivated by Jill’s raw talent, he fights his feelings, but watching Jill on-stage with another man is more than his jealous streak can take. Keeping things professional isn’t an option. He wants all of her.
Soon the ingénue and her director are staying late in the empty theatre, their private rehearsals spiraling into new, forbidden territory. Caught up between fiction and reality, Jill struggles to find the truth in all their staged kisses. But how can she be sure that what she feels is real, and not a part of the play? And when two people spend their lives pretending, what happens after the final curtain falls?

I admit it, I was one of those people who "didn't read romance books". I thought it wasn't my thing and all I could think of when I thought about romance books were the masses of older ladies coming into the used bookstore I used to work at- all purchasing huge hoards of romance books. They would usually finish the stack of books within a week, and would then proceed to come back for more. So up until yesterday, I didn't read romance books.

And then I read Playing With Her Heart. And now I would proudly say that I read romance books, because Lauren Blakely has changed my mind. In the past day, I've read three of Lauren's four books. All of them have been beyond fantastic, but Playing With Her Heart has been the one that's stuck with me the most.

Not only are the characters good, but so is the writing. Blakely captured me from the very first page. I was immediately hooked, and couldn't stop reading. Jill is a strong minded main character who isn't afraid to go out and get what she wants. She wants a career on Broadway- and she gets it. She wants Davis Milo- and she gets him too. Jill, like the rest of the characters in Playing With Her Heart was very well written. She had an incredible amount of depth. Her past, and the way she tried to hide it, added so much to her character. Jill wasn't just what she appeared to be on the outside- she was so much more. She jumped off of the page, and completely took over. Another character that did this was the gorgeous,dark, and brooding Davis Milo. I always talk about loving YA book boys, but Davis Milo is definitely my favorite romance book boy. Every scene with him was electric. He took over the story and demanded to be noticed. Any scene with him is guaranteed to be extremely sexy and extremely unforgettable.

Lauren Blakely is quickly becoming one of my favorite writers. Playing With Her Heart captured my heart, and I don't want to let it go. Davis and Jill were both fantastic characters, and I really want to know more of their story. This is a must read for anyone who is looking for a good, steamy story that doesn’t fall short when it comes to depth.

FTC- Bought.

Since You Asked by Maureen Goo

A humorous, debut novel about a Korean-American teenager who accidentally lands her own column in her high school newspaper, and proceeds to rant her way through the school year while struggling to reconcile the traditional Korean values of her parents with contemporary American culture.

Before I started reading Since You Asked, I hadn’t really heard much about it. I saw the cover and the book looked cute and sassy, so I decided to pick it up. Though I did like the book, I was also disappointed. This book was cute and sassy, yes. However, at times the sassiness got to the point of sounding immature.

The main character, Holly, starts out being really awesome. She writes for his high school newspaper, she’s determined to stay true to herself, and has no problem with speaking her mind. However, at times she took it too far. Holly’s column went from being a space to share her honest opinion, to being a space where she just ripped on everything that was happening for no reason. Her motivation at times felt fake- and so did she. Though Holly’s bluntness is what makes her relatable to many teens, it is also what makes her unrelatable. She is angry about so many things. I’m a teenager, I know that teenager’s are moody and angry and filled with angst. But from my own personal experience, I’ve never met a fellow teenager who is this full of angst. It was rare to find a moment in Since You Asked where Holly wasn’t complaining about something. There were parts that I liked about Since You Asked. I liked the overall idea of the novel, despite my problems with how it was executed. I liked all of the secondary characters. They added some reality to the story, and I really liked all of the relationships.

Though it wasn’t my thing, I think that some people would enjoy Since You Asked. It reminded me of something that may be like YA chick-lit, minus the super-romance aspect. Going in to it, you have to be prepared for Holly, though.

FTC- Received via Netgalley.

Book Events!

Every so often I post about book event’s happening in my area. Partly so those of you who live in the CA Bay Area will know about the awesome events and hopefully attend, and partly because I just adore my local indie Copperfields.

So today, I’m here to tell you all about two that I’m SUPER EXCITED ABOUT. The first one is with Stacey Jay and Corina Vacco. This excitement is both caused by my love of both of the authors and their books (I mean, seriously. I’m reading Corina Vacco’s book right now, and it is freaking awesome) and by the fact that Copperfields asked me to moderate the event. Yay! The other event is with actor/writer extraordinaire Chris Colfer. I (sadly) won’t be able to go to the event, but I love the fact that he’s going to be at Copperfields. So, without further to do, here is the information-

Corina Vacco (author of My Chemical Mountain) and Stacey Jay (author of the Juliet Immortal series, and most recently Of Beast and Beauty)

Copperfields Books in Montgomery Village

Friday, August 16th.

6:30pm.

You can learn more about the event by going here.

 

Copperfield’s is also having Chris Colfer (you may have heard of him, you know, from the show Glee).

Copperfields in Petaluma

Saturday, August 17th.

12:00pm

This event is ticketed, and you can learn more about it by going here.

Giveaway: A Really Awesome Mess

Today I have the opportunity to giveaway a copy of A Really Awesome Mess by Brendan Halpin and Trish Cook! I loved this book so much, and am really excited that one of you will get to read it. You can read my review here. Here is a summary of A Really Awesome Mess-
Two teenagers. Two very bumpy roads taken that lead to Heartland Academy.
Justin was just having fun, but when his dad walked in on him with a girl in a very compromising position, Justin's summer took a quick turn for the worse. His parents' divorce put Justin on rocky mental ground, and after a handful of Tylenol lands him in the hospital, he has really hit rock bottom.
Emmy never felt like part of her family. She was adopted from China. Her parents and sister tower over her and look like they came out of a Ralph Lauren catalog-- and Emmy definitely doesn't. After a scandalous photo of Emmy leads to vicious rumors around school, she threatens the boy who started it all on Facebook.
Justin and Emmy arrive at Heartland Academy, a reform school that will force them to deal with their issues, damaged souls with little patience for authority. But along the way they will find a ragtag group of teens who are just as broken, stubborn, and full of sarcasm as themselves. In the end, they might even call each other friends.
A funny, sad, and remarkable story, A Really Awesome Mess is a journey of friendship and self-discovery that teen readers will surely sign up for. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Dirty Little Secret by Jennifer Echols

Bailey wasn’t always a wild child and the black sheep of her family. She used to play fiddle and tour the music circuit with her sister, Julie, who sang and played guitar. That ended when country music execs swooped in and signed Julie to a solo deal. Never mind that Julie and Bailey were a duet, or that Bailey was their songwriter. The music scouts wanted only Julie, and their parents were content to sit by and let her fulfill her dreams while Bailey’s were hushed away.
Bailey has tried to numb the pain and disappointment over what could have been. And as Julie’s debut album is set to hit the charts, her parents get fed up with Bailey’s antics and ship her off to granddad’s house in Nashville. Playing fiddle in washed-up tribute groups at the mall, Bailey meets Sam, a handsome and oh-so-persuasive guitarist with his own band. He knows Bailey’s fiddle playing is just the thing his band needs to break into the industry. But this life has broken Bailey’s heart once before. She isn’t sure she’s ready to let Sam take her there again…

No matter how many Jennifer Echols’ books I read, they never lose their magic. This was especially evident when it comes to Dirty Little Secret. I’ve read and loved all of Echols’s romantic dramas, so I admit, I was skeptical to read this one. I thought it couldn’t possibly top her last four romantic dramas. I was wrong. I loved Bailey’s story. It was interesting and unusual, and made for a really awesome read.

Bailey was a great character. She was spunky and talented and overall really unforgettable. When staying with her grandfather and working at the local mall, she meets the mysterious and adorable Sam. Sam is yet again another perfect heartthrob. I will never tire of the boys in Echols’s books. They are all incredibly swoon-worthy. I loved that Sam was able to convince Bailey to step outside of her shell. The two of them had drama, but ultimately  they both helped each other grow as individuals. I really liked that Bailey’s family played a part in this. Though they weren’t always there, it was really clear how Bailey felt about her family- and especially her sister. All of the characters in Dirty Little Secret were written flawlessly. They each had their own attributes, and were overall really likeable.

One of my favorite parts of Dirty Little Secret was the plot. You don’t see very many YAs that have to do with music. I always get super excited when I get to read a YA with music involved, because they’re always amazing. So I was happy to see that Dirty Little Secret fit the bill. Nashville was the perfect location for this novel. It really adds to the story, and plays such a big part that it’s kind of like a separate character.

Dirty Little Secret is an adorable, well written, unforgettable novel. Jennifer Echols never disappoints. For anyone who hasn’t read her books, you really should. Echols has become one of my favorite YA romance writers. Her books, including Dirty Little Secret, are always immensely original.You can’t help but fall in love with the characters and their story.

FTC- Received for review.

A Really Awesome Mess by Trish Cook and Brendan Halpin

Two teenagers. Two very bumpy roads taken that lead to Heartland Academy.
Justin was just having fun, but when his dad walked in on him with a girl in a very compromising position, Justin's summer took a quick turn for the worse. His parents' divorce put Justin on rocky mental ground, and after a handful of Tylenol lands him in the hospital, he has really hit rock bottom.
Emmy never felt like part of her family. She was adopted from China. Her parents and sister tower over her and look like they came out of a Ralph Lauren catalog-- and Emmy definitely doesn't. After a scandalous photo of Emmy leads to vicious rumors around school, she threatens the boy who started it all on Facebook.
Justin and Emmy arrive at Heartland Academy, a reform school that will force them to deal with their issues, damaged souls with little patience for authority. But along the way they will find a ragtag group of teens who are just as broken, stubborn, and full of sarcasm as themselves. In the end, they might even call each other friends.

I was skeptic to start this book. I had heard good things about it, but I didn’t know how much I would like it. I ended up liking it a lot. I went in to A Really Awesome Mess thinking it would be a depressing book, with cynical kids that would get on my nerves. Though the characters were cynical, they didn’t annoy me at all. In fact, their humor lifted the story up to a whole other level. That was one of my favorite things about A Really Awesome Mess. Though the characters had mental illnesses and were cynical and didn’t want to be where they were- they all had a really great sense of humor. It was admirable and added a lot more depth to the story.

The main characters in particular, Emmy and Justin, were both extremely well written. The novel is told in alternating point of view, and though it’s very hard to pull of, Halpin and Cook did a perfect job of writing the two points of view. Emmy was at times annoying. I didn’t like how hung up she got on certain things, but I could also understand why she acted the way she did. Justin was great. I liked his sense of humor the best. He was a smart-ass and not afraid to admit it. The way the two characters acted around each other was perfect. I loved seeing their emotions towards each other change as the story progressed.

This book may be triggering to some people (the main character struggles with anorexia, and there are very other illnesses discussed). A Really Awesome Mess was one of the best books I’ve read recently. The writing is flawless, and the characters are unforgettable. I haven’t read Trish Cook and Brendan Halpin’s other books, but I want to go out and read them immediately. A Really Awesome Mess is an addicting and well written novel that you won’t be able to forget about.

FTC- Received from publisher.