Moonglass by Jessi Kirby

I read once that water is a symbol for emotions. And for a while now, I’ve thought maybe my mother drowned in both.
     Anna’s life is upended when her father accepts a job transfer the summer before her junior year. It’s bad enough that she has to leave her friends behind, but her dad is moving them to the beach where her parents first met and fell in love—a place awash in memories that Anna would just as soon leave under the surface.
     While life on the beach is pretty great, with ocean views and one adorable lifeguard in particular, there are also family secrets that were buried years ago. And the ebb and flow of the ocean’s tide means that nothing—not the sea glass that collects along the shore, and not the truths behind Anna’s mother’s death—stays buried forever.

This book is so cute! It’s the perfect summer read. Moonglass is perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen and Sarah Ockler. Kirby is a fantastic writer. The setting of this book was great. It was almost like a whole separate character. The beach and everything else- was pure magic.

Anna is an awesome main character. What she had to go through was really sad- but I think she dealt with it well. Having to move to an old beach house where your parents used to live can be hard. It was full of old memories for her and her father, which provided some added tension to their relationship. However, the father daughter dynamic was one of the best subplots of this book. It made it so the story wasn’t just about romance.

Jessi Kirby is amazing. I loved this novel, as well as Jessi’s sophomore novel- In Honor. I absolutely recommend Moonglass. It’sa superb summer read.

FTC- Bought.

The Summer I Learned to Fly by Dana Reinhardt

Drew's a bit of a loner. She has a pet rat, her dead dad's Book of Lists, an encyclopedic knowledge of cheese from working at her mom's cheese shop, and a crush on Nick, the surf bum who works behind the counter. It's the summer before eighth grade and Drew's days seem like business as usual, until one night after closing time, when she meets a strange boy in the alley named Emmett Crane. Who he is, why he's there, where the cut on his cheek came from, and his bottomless knowledge of rats are all mysteries Drew will untangle as they are drawn closer together, and Drew enters into the first true friendship, and adventure, of her life.

This novel took my breath away. Prior to reading it, I had only read one book by Reinhardt, so I didn’t really know what to expect. What I discovered was a fantastic trove of great characters, heartfelt stories, and beautiful prose. Dana Reinhardt is a fantastic writer. I immediately felt connected to Drew and her story.

I loved that The Summer I Learned to Fly takes place in a small town. Though the town I live in isn’t particularly small, it’s easy to relate to Drew when she talks about feeling trapped in her small town. I especially enjoyed this towns little quirks- like the cheese shop that Drew’s mom owns. The Summer I Learned to Fly is full of many other quirky things- whether it be Emmett and his knowledge of rats or the book of lists that used to be Drew’s fathers. The quirks aren’t just what make those characters special- they are what make the book special. Having those cute, odd things made this novel seem like it was more than just the average small town book.

Drew was awesome. Like I said earlier, I found it really easy to relate to her- especially her need to escape her town. Drew is a younger YA protagonist, but her character is written in a way that makes it so her age doesn’t hinder the story. She’s still independent, and doesn’t act completely like a child.

The Summer I Learned to Fly was awesome. After I had finished reading it, I couldn’t get the characters out of my head. I loved Drew’s story, and I hope you do too.

FTC- Bought.

Confessions of an Angry Girl by Louise Rozett

Rose Zarelli, self-proclaimed word geek and angry girl, has some confessions to make…
1. I'm livid all the time. Why? My dad died. My mom barely talks. My brother abandoned us. I think I'm allowed to be irate, don't you?
2. I make people furious regularly. Want an example? I kissed Jamie Forta, a badass guy who might be dating a cheerleader. She is now enraged and out for blood. Mine.
3. High school might as well be Mars. My best friend has been replaced by an alien, and I see red all the time. (Mars is red and "seeing red" means being angry—get it?)
Here are some other vocab words that describe my life: Inadequate. Insufferable. Intolerable.
(Don't know what they mean? Look them up yourself.)
(Sorry. That was rude.)

First off, let’s talk about this book cover. I love it. I have no idea why I like it so much, but I do. (I think it may be because the cover has a lot of white on it which makes it look… clean. I read Confessions of an Angry Girl awhile ago, but for some reason never reviewed it. However, I recently found myself rereading it- so I thought I should post a review. When I first picked up this book, I was weary of it since the main character is pretty young for a YA character (she’s 14, instead of the usual 15-18).

However, I loved Confessions of an Angry Girl. Rose was spunky, and I ended up liking her way more than I thought I would. At times, her snarky narrative added some comedic relief to the story. The comedic relief was definitely needed, since Rose’s narrative also got quite dark at times. I admit, I cried a few times while reading this.

Confessions of an Angry Girl is fantastic. It has spots of snark paired with patches of serious bits. Louise Rozett is an amazing writer. I can’t wait to read the second book in this series! Rose Zarelli captured my heart and mind, and I loved reading her story.

FTC- eGalley from Netgalley.

Touched by Corrine Jackson

Remy O’Malley heals people with touch—but every injury she cures becomes her own. Living in a household with an abusive stepfather, she has healed untold numbers of broken bones, burns,and bruises. And then one night her stepfather goes too far.
Being sent to live with her estranged father offers a clean start and she is eager to take it. Enter Asher Blackwell. Once a Protector of Healers, Asher sacrificed his senses to become immortal. Only by killing a Healer can a Protector recover their human senses. Falling in love is against the rules between these two enemies. Because Remy has the power to make Protectors human again, and when they find out, they’ll be coming for her—if Asher doesn’t kill her first.

This book was so magnificent. I loved Corrine’s debut novel, If I Lie, so I was excited to start Touched. I loved Touched, however, both books are wildly different. If I Lie was an emotional contemporary novel. Where as Touched is the first in an emotional (in different ways) paranormal series. I devoured Touched. I read most of it before meeting Corrine at a book signing, and then read the rest on the way home from the signing. This book is seriously addicting, so if you start reading it (which you should), you should make sure to carve out a few hours because you’ll most likely want to read it straight through.

Remy was awesome. I loved how kickass she was- and how she wasn’t afraid to stand up to people. The power that she had, being able to heal people was really interesting. I especially like that her power isn’t just one sided. Using it has its consequences, and even though it hurts Remy to heal people, she still makes the choice to help. Asher is gorgeous. It’s really apparent that he’s a YA boy, though. Some parts about him were stereotypical. Asher was dark, brooding, and mysterious. That being said, I still loved him.

Touched was a great book. The characters were well written and the story was overall really interesting. Corrine Jackson is am amazing writer, and I can’t wait to read the second book in the Touched series!

FTC- Bought.

Waiting on Wednesday (65)

Waiting on Wednesday is an amazing weekly topic that is brought to you by Jill @ Breaking the Spine.

The Distance Between Us by Kasie West

July 2, 2013

Seventeen-year-old Caymen Meyers studies the rich like her own personal science experiment, and after years of observation she’s pretty sure they’re only good for one thing—spending money on useless stuff, like the porcelain dolls in her mother’s shop.
So when Xander Spence walks into the store to pick up a doll for his grandmother, it only takes one glance for Caymen to figure out he’s oozing rich. Despite his charming ways and that he’s one of the first people who actually gets her, she’s smart enough to know his interest won’t last. Because if there’s one thing she’s learned from her mother’s warnings, it’s that the rich have a short attention span. But Xander keeps coming around, despite her best efforts to scare him off. And much to her dismay, she's beginning to enjoy his company.
She knows her mom can’t find out—she wouldn’t approve. She’d much rather Caymen hang out with the local rocker who hasn’t been raised by money. But just when Xander’s attention and loyalty are about to convince Caymen that being rich isn’t a character flaw, she finds out that money is a much bigger part of their relationship than she’d ever realized. And that Xander’s not the only one she should’ve been worried about.

Beautiful Music for Ugly Children by Kristin Cronn-Mills

"This is Beautiful Music for Ugly Children, on community radio 90.3, KZUK. I'm Gabe. Welcome to my show."
My birth name is Elizabeth, but I'm a guy. Gabe. My parents think I've gone crazy and the rest of the world is happy to agree with them, but I know I'm right. I've been a boy my whole life.
When you think about it, I'm like a record. Elizabeth is my A side, the song everybody knows, and Gabe is my B side--not heard as often, but just as good.
It's time to let my B side play.

This book was so good! It was the first book I had read after a long reading drought. Beautiful Music for Ugly Children was refreshing. It wasn’t a light book to read, but it was easy in the sense that getting into the story didn’t take much effort. I was immediately drawn to Gabe, and his heartfelt story. I was a little apprehensive about starting Beautiful Music for Ugly Children, but once I started it, I couldn’t put it down.

Kristin Cronn-Mills is a fantastic writer. She stunned me with her writing and characters. Gabe was amazing. He was an interesting, fearless, badass character who people should aspire to be like. I honestly wasn’t expecting to care for Gabe, along with all the other characters in this book, as much as I did.

Beautiful Music for Ugly Children is a must-read for everyone. There aren’t many books out there that are able to accomplish what this book accomplished. I have endless praise for Kristin Cronn-Mills. Her writing is beautiful, and this story is stunning.

FTC- Received at Summer ALA.

Waiting on Wednesday (64)

Waiting on Wednesday is an amazing weekly topic that is brought to you by Jill @ Breaking the Spine.

Leap of Faith by Jaime Blair

September 3, 2013

Now that Leah Kurtz has a place to call home, there’s no way she can tell the truth.
That her name is Faith, not Leah.
That she’s seventeen, not nineteen.
That the baby isn’t hers—she kidnapped her.
She had to kidnap Addy though. She couldn’t let her newborn sister grow up like she did, with parties where the drugs flow all night and an empty refrigerator in the kitchen holding nothing but pickle juice and ketchup packets inside.
She can’t risk losing Chris—the only guy she’s ever given herself to completely—by telling him she’s been lying. He’s the most generous person she’s ever known, and he’s already suffered the tragic deaths of his mom and infant sister.
But being on the run with a newborn catches up with her when a cop starts asking questions, and Chris’s aunt finds a newspaper article about Faith and a missing baby. Faith knows it’s time to run again—from Chris and the only place that’s ever felt like home.

Also Known As by Robin Benway

Being a 16-year-old safecracker and active-duty daughter of international spies has its moments, good and bad. Pros: Seeing the world one crime-solving adventure at a time. Having parents with super cool jobs. Cons: Never staying in one place long enough to have friends or a boyfriend. But for Maggie Silver, the biggest perk of all has been avoiding high school and the accompanying cliques, bad lunches, and frustratingly simple locker combinations.
Then Maggie and her parents are sent to New York for her first solo assignment, and all of that changes. She'll need to attend a private school, avoid the temptation to hack the school's security system, and befriend one aggravatingly cute Jesse Oliver to gain the essential information she needs to crack the case . . . all while trying not to blow her cover.

I am, and always have been a huge fan of Robin Benway’s novels. Because of this, I had huge expectations for Also Known As. Luckily, all of my expectations were more than met. Benway is an amazing writer. She’s able to craft a well-written, humorous story that holds your attention until the very end. It also had spies! I love spies.

Maggie was fabulous. She was smart, witty, and totally kick-butt. I liked that she was still a realistic teen character, even though she is a freaking spy! I loved her. Maggie’s parents were great too. One of the things I love most about Benway’s writing is her ability to make all the characters real, even the parents. Instead of being divorced/dead/other, Benway made Maggie’s parents like most parents. They’re dysfunctional, but they still have their own personalities.

Also Known As was fabulous. I loved every minute that I was reading it. Benway’s writing is fast-paced (I read the book in one sitting) and unmistakably hilarious. Fans of The Gallagher Girl books will love this. But, I recommend it to everybody who’s looking for a good spy novel, or just a book that will make them laugh.

FTC- Received from publisher.