The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett - Chelsea Sedoti

Title: The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett
Author: Chelsea Sedoti
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Release Date: January 1, 2017

Hawthorn, a teenage girl with a hippie mom, an older brother named Rush who seems stuck in the past, and a pretty traditional dad, becomes obsessed with the disappearance of Lizzie Lovett.  Lizzie, four years older than Hawthorn, disappeared one day while on a camping trip with her boyfriend.  Hawthorn doesn't think much about it at first, but slowly becomes obsessed with Lizzie - and also believes that Lizzie did not, in fact, get killed or kidnapped or anything like that but rather that she turned into a werewolf.  Yep - Hawthorn thinks Lizzie turned into a werewolf. 

The story includes some history about Lizzie - including a photo of Lizzie from junior high where she had black hair and goth style clothing.  It turns out Lizzie just kind of changes who she is when she moves to a new place - perhaps so she doesn't have to let anyone see the real her.  Anyway, the story is not really about Lizzie, or at least not completely.  It's mostly about Hawthorn - a sort of coming of age story. 

I couldn't think of a single thing I didn't like about this book.  I loved it all.  There were moments that made me laugh, and there were moments that made me cry, and a couple times I thought this book was just going to break me wide open and leave me like that.  Hawthorn experiences a lot of...change and growth and some hard truth throughout the book.  When both her best friend Emily, and her brother tell her that life is not all about her, and that she seems to think it is, Hawthorn is kind of forced to open her eyes and evaluate who she is.  She and the other characters in this book all experience development in the book.  They all grow in some way, which is good.  It adds depth to the characters that so many books are lacking!

The story itself was great.  Sometimes it was a little weird - but even in the weird moments (like Hawthorn thinking Lizzie was a werewolf, or finding out that Hawthorn's mom prefers to be called Sparrow) the story was still great.  It had ups and downs, enough tension and dramatic moments, and the writing was excellent!  There wasn't a single moment when I wanted this book to end - and when it did, I felt just really sad at what had happened and at the fact that it was done. 

This book gets a solid 5 stars - read it and give it to your teens as well.  You will love it!

Life Swap - Carol Wyer

Title: Life Swap
Author: Carol Wyer
Publisher:
Release Date:

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book through Netgalley.  All thoughts about this book are my own.

Take a chance on a new life and maybe you’ll find your happy ever after. Because true love is always worth the risk…

Handsome prince, beautiful house, fabulous job? Polly has none of these. All she has to her name is a string of failed relationships and she’s up to her ears in debt. She sees herself as a hopeless case and would do anything to change her luck.

Simon is approaching the big 50. He’s off his game at work, his kids don’t seem to notice he exists and his wife seems to think he’s made of money. As for sex …what’s that?

So when the opportunity comes for both of them to swap their lives for a life of luxury, they jump at the chance. For Simon a life of helicopters, fast cars and hot babes beckons. For Polly, it’s all diamonds, spa days and celebrity parties. What more could they want?

Trouble is, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. Is life in the fast lane more than either of them can cope with? 

When I read the description for this book on Netgalley, I thought - Hey that sounds like a good book.  I won't say I was completely disappointed, but it was a bit...different than I thought it would be.  I was expecting something a bit more lighthearted - more of a comedic book.  That was not really the case with Life Swap.  While there were funny moments in the book - like when Polly spent the day painted up in gold to work for a friend that had broken her leg - this book was more serious than anything.  That's not bad - just keep that in mind should you choose to read the book.  

The characters: I found them to be distinct from each other, yet not all that fulfilling.  They all just felt flat to me.  There was nothing really to cheer for in any of the characters.  They were just kind of there, ambling through life, having a go at whatever came their way.  The characters were definitely not what kept me reading this book.

The plot: It took a while to get into the actual dirt of the story, but once I did, it was worth it.  I enjoyed reading what happened as Polly and Simon went through their "life swaps."  It can be interesting to see what happens anytime someone is taken out of their normal life and plopped into a life completely different than their own.  Wanting to know how it all turned out was what kept me going til the end.

The actual writing of the book was okay - not excellent, not terrible, just okay.  The author does a fair job of describing the events, locations, and people in the book, but like I said, were it not for my interest in finding out what happened, the actual writing would not have been enough to keep me reading.

Overall, this book would get 3 stars - I could take it or leave it. 

The Haters - Jesse Andrews

***Disclaimer***

I received a free copy of The Haters through Netgalley.  All thoughts and opinions about this book are my own.

 

 

Book: The Haters

Author: Jesse Andrews

Publisher: ABRAMS Kids (A division of Amulet Books)

Release Date: April 5, 2016

 



If you've ever heard of or read the book Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl, then you are already familiar with author Jesse Andrews.  His new book, The Haters, is coming out this year, and if you're a teenage boy, or you know a teenage boy, or you just love funny books geared towards teens, then this is a book you will have to read!  Add it to your TBR pile right now.

 

I was intrigued by the premise of The Haters - two friends go to jazz band camp, where the meet a girl (!!!).  The three of them leave jazz camp to embark on a crazy tour adventure and chaos ensues. 

 

The trio around which this book revolves are Wes, Corey, and Ash.  Wes has parents who stopped worrying about him years ago because he never gets into any trouble.  Corey has parents who worry way to much.  And Ash has a billionaire dad who lives in another city, and an aging model mom who goes out with new guys every night and spends a lot of time drinking.  Corey and Wes have been friends for years, and when they meet Ash at camp, the are fascinated by her.  She is the mastermind behind them deciding to leave camp and go on tour.

 

I can barely put into words how much I enjoyed this book - it was a laughfest from beginning to end.  When Wes describes himself and Corey as "jazz-nerd chaff," and the worst of the best, I felt bad for them, but also giggled a little.  The descriptions of the tryouts and the way people reacted to Wes and Corey when they got put into the "loser" band were hilarious.  I could imagine their friend just backing away from them like they had just announced they were going to become Hannibal Lector. 

 

It was great that all the characters have their own very defined personalities.  There was no worry with this book that the characters would blend together.  They all had their own voices.  The story moved smoothly as well - everything just seemed to fit together.  I think the language was spot on for how teen boys talk.  I appreciate that the author doesn't dumb things down or try to make it seem like teenage boys don't swear or talk about girls.  (The boys in the book are 17 after all.)  The only thing I had to sort of steel myself against was how much Wes and Corey talked about their dicks.  Other than that, it was all around fantastic.

 

I think the ending was believable as well - don't worry I won't tell you what happened.  But it all makes sense and fits in well with the rest of the novel.  The book gets 4.5 stars from me - believe me, you'll want to read this one as soon as it comes out!

Stay With Me - Jenny Anastan

***Disclaimer***
I received an e-copy of this book through Netgalley.  I am not being paid for this review - all thoughts and reflections are my own.

Title: Stay with me

Author: Jenny Anastan

Published by: AmazonCrossing

Release Date:  October 20, 2015

This book started out nice, but I quickly found that the beginning was the only good part of the book.  To sum up this book quickly: We start by meeting our protagonist Zoe, a single mom raising her 3 1/2 year old daughter Olivia, nicknamed Ollie.  Zoe is a single mother because the guy she was involved with, Andrew,  made it clear to her that he never wanted to have a real relationship - and after one year of nothing but sex, he leaves and she never tells him that she's pregnant.  Through a weird turn of events he ends up back in her life, and a crazy series of events ensues throughout the coming weeks. 

I tried really hard to find something, anything that I liked about this book. In the end, the only thing that really stood out for me was Zoe's hard work and willingness to take a leap in opening her own business.  I found the writing to be boring, the characters to be rather drab and unbelievable, and the antics that Andrew pulled on Zoe to be downright psychologically abusive and manipulative.  

We learn that Zoe and Andrew had one year of nothing but sex, per his request.  They never went out together in public, never went on any dates, never spent the night at each others homes, and never got to know anything personal about each other in that year.  Despite all that, Zoe says she has fallen in love with Andrew, and when he leaves to return to NYC, she is heartbroken.  When he returns four years later, it is on the arm of Ashley, the daughter of her mom's best friend.  Zoe's parents and Ashley's dad were killed in a car accident when they were 19. 

Zoe is shocked and finds herself wondering how she is going to hide Ollie from Andrew.  Within a matter of days, he finds out that Ollie exists and is his daughter and then all hell breaks loose.  There are several scenes throughout the next several chapters that involve Andrew practically forcing himself on Zoe, then getting mad at her for refusing his advances.  He also tells her repeatedly that she had no right to hide Ollie from him (which I agree with, but the manner in which he speaks to Zoe about it is very psychologically manipulative.)  He manages to spin every situation so that it seems like it's all Zoe's fault, and he refuses to accept any of the blame for he treated her.

Then there is the way that Ashley behaves throughout the entire novel.  It is made abundantly clear that she does not like Zoe, and that she will do everything in her power to destroy Zoe and make Zoe look like a bad person.  She is constantly taking digs at Zoe, she never once tells Andrew that Zoe's parents were killed in the same crash that killed her father.  She is a cold, calculating, manipulative person, and frankly I have a hard time that all her bad personality traits could all exist in one person.

There was really no character development throughout this book.  None of the characters seemed to grow or learn anything by the end of the book.  Even though Zoe forgave Andrew, I have no doubt in my mind that he has not changed at all, and still only cares about himself.  Ashley was exactly as heartless at the end of the book as she was at the beginning.  And Zoe was a complete pushover from beginning to end.

I had hopes that this novel would be great, but upon finishing it, I know that I can only give it a 1 star rating.  I don't believe this is a book I would recommend to others.

Fishing with RayAnne - Ava Finch

***Disclaimer***

I received an e-ARC of this book through NetGalley.  All thoughts and opinions about this book are my own.

 

 

Title: Fishing with RayAnne

Author: Ava Finch

Publisher:Lake Union Publishing

Release Date: November 3, 2015

 

 

Fishing with RayAnne, by author Ava Finch, is a charming novel that takes place in the Twin Cities metro area in Minnesota.  It is about a woman who works for public television, working mostly on a show that is a cross between a fishing show and a talk show.  It has been dubbed a sort of Oprah in a boat type of show.  RayAnne has been the "temporary" host of the show for a while, due to the inability for the show to hold on to a real, long-term host.  Despite the fact that she views it as only temporary, other people seem to love her - and the ratings for the show are up.

 

After becoming frustrated with her mother, the show, and the rest of her family, RayAnne takes a much needed break to Florida to visit her dear grandmother Dot.  The rest of the book is a ride through tentative relationships and quirky family drama that will leave the reader cheering for RayAnne.

 

I loved reading this book.  The plot was strong and believable - and was littered with enough humor to make the drama seem not so bad.  I didn't once find myself thinking "Oh, that could never happen."  As a native Minnesotan, I totally got that Minnesota vibe from this book.  I am not a fisher, but I know a lot of people who fish, and I think this book totally nailed their attitudes about fishing to a T. 

 

The characters in this book were unique and really stood out from each other.  My favorite character was RayAnne's mother, by far.  She was this old quirky hippy, and as much as I loved her, I could see why RayAnne would have wanted a break from her.  Through all the awkward situations RayAnne found herself in (like when "Uncle Roger" tried to convince her to give up public TV and come back to him) I found myself rooting for RayAnne and wanting things to go well for her. 

 

Overall, this is a five star book - I would heartily recommend it to others! 

The Girls from SeeSaw Lane - Sandy Taylor

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the book through Netgalley.  All thoughts and opinions about this book are my own.

 

 

 

Book: The Girls from SeeSaw Lane

Author: Sandy Taylor

Publisher: Bookotoure

Release Date: December 4, 2015

 

 

The Girls from SeeSaw Lane, by Sandy Taylor, is a look at friendship and heartbreak in 1960's Brighton, England.  The protagonist, Dottie Perks, and her best friend Mary Pickles, have know each other their entire lives.  Mary took Dottie under her wing when they were young, because other people didn't want to hang out with the fat girl.  Mary and Dottie do everything together - they even work together at Woolworths, the local department store. 

 

The primary focus of the book is the relationship that Mary has with Elton, and the one that Dottie has with Ralph.  Mary's relationship with Elton, however, is not much of a real relationship.  He uses her because he knows how she feels about him - so Mary spends most of her time lamenting over him.  Ralph and Dottie, on the other hand, have a wonderful relationship that goes smashingly well until an event happens that changes the entire dynamic between Mary, Dottie, and Ralph.  From there, the novel takes a turn I never would have expected.

 

I enjoyed this book in so many ways.  I think the characters were all really well developed, and it was easy to distinguish between each character.  I like that the book also had diary entries from Mary at the beginning of many of the chapters - it helped give some more insight into what Mary was thinking about things happening in her life.

 

The thing that surprised me the most was what happens to Mary (don't worry, no spoilers.)  I didn't see it happening - and I think this worked well to have it be a surprise.  The twist fit in well with the rest of the book, and made for a sad yet fantastic ending.

 

Overall, this is a book I would recommend to anyone looking for a great read about friendship and love.  You won't be disappointed.

 

 

 

 



Next Stop: Love - Miranda J. Fox

***DISCLAIMER*** I received a free ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  All thoughts on the book are my own.

Book: Next Stop: Love

Author: Miranda J. Fox

Publisher: Amazon Publishing (Amazon Cross)

Release Date: September 15, 2015

Sophia - a 25 year old recent law school graduate - has been living under the thumb of her controlling mother her entire life.  So she finally leaves and moves to Berlin.  She has an interview on the day of her arrival - and while riding the train, she meets a man who grates on her nerves in more ways than she can count.  Little does Sophia know that this man, Luca Marcs, is about to become her boss.

Sophia attends her interview and begrudgingly accepts that job, if only to prove that she can do it.  In the end, she loves the job, and much more.  Throughout the novel, we meet a host of weird, funny, and in one case, downright nasty characters who make the novel come alive.  There's Aileen, the tattooed 40 year old secretary, Mary, the snide, rude, callous secretary, Mr. Marcs, Luca's overbearing father and the owner of Marcs Entertainment, and Lisa, Sophia's best friend and roommate.

This novella was short and well written - I whipped through it in a day, and enjoyed ever second of it.  Both Luca and Sophia make changes in their lives and work towards being better people throughout the novel.  They come to trust each other in a way I wondered if Sophia ever could.

Even though this book was shortish, I got into it right away, and fell in love with the characters.  I cheered when Luca and Sophia went on their first date.  I was appalled at Mr. Marcs when he attempted to break them up.  I wanted to cry when Sophia believed Mr. Marcs, and tried to end it with Luca.  I laughed out loud when Sophia met Aileen's mom for the first time.  The characters all fit together so well throughout the entire story, and each had their own distinct personalities.

I found the story to be believable and well thought out and structured.  It was funny at the right moments, and I genuinely believed this story could happen.  I would give this book a solid 5 stars.  Get your hands on it as soon as it comes out - you won't be disappointed.