Contemporary YA

Not Easy: HOW TO BE COOL–A Review

how to be cool tour bannerHi there! Today I’m sharing a review for a newly-published contemporary YA romance from Annie Carr. HOW TO BE COOL features a teen boy who suffers cerebral palsy looking for love. And finds it! (And loses it…for a while.) It’s really a fascinating read, and the original plot turns kept me awake long past my bedtime.

How to Be CoolAbout the book:

Ethan will never be as cool as his twin brother Alex. Alex is a star football player and president of the senior class, while Ethan was born with cerebral palsy and needs crutches to walk.

Laura will never be as cool as her perfect older sister Nikki. Nikki is everything Laura isn’t—confident and gorgeous… until one night when Nikki is brutally raped and hospitalized, and Laura finds comfort in her new friend Ethan.

Together, Ethan and Laura realize maybe you don’t need to be cool to be happy. Or to fall in love.

And then a revelation about the attack shatters everything…

How about a little taste?

I see her out of the corner of my eye. Elsie Kahn. Elsie of Mr. Watson’s chemistry class fame, the girl who (accidentally?) set her homework on fire with the flame from her Bunsen burner. She got about as red as I’d ever seen a person get as Mr. Watson chewed her out in front of the whole class.

It seems like Elsie isn’t having a better day today. She’s running for the last of the school buses, but the driver doesn’t see her, and it’s obvious this is going to be a major fail. Her hair is whipping behind her head and her cheeks are all pink with exertion. She’s screaming, “Wait! Wait!”

It probably needs to be said about Elsie: she isn’t pretty. I’m not saying that in a mean way like my brother would, just in a factual way. She’s not. Her body is pretty nice, or at least it was the day of the chemistry fire, when she was wearing a maroon skirt that fell just above her knees and a clingy black shirt. And she’s got nice hair too—strawberry blond and silky. But it’s obvious even from where I’m standing that Elsie had been born with a cleft lip, and it didn’t get repaired right. You can see where the pieces of her upper lip don’t quite come together evenly.

So Elsie isn’t pretty. Big deal. The fact is, she’s something even better than pretty.

She’s attainable.

Owen comes out of the school at that moment, and I can see the pit stains on his shirt under his open jacket. He apparently worked up quite the sweat running to five different classrooms. But the good news is, he’s holding his Spanish book triumphantly above his head. “It was in the bathroom!” he declares.

The bathroom? Are you kidding me? And now this book is going to be in my car? Lucky for him, I’ve got other things on my mind.

“Hey…” I nudge Owen. “Elsie missed her bus. Maybe we should offer her a ride home.”

Owen looks up in Elsie’s direction. He makes a face like he’s not thrilled about the idea, but then shrugs and sprints for the car. “I guess so. But she has to sit in the back.” Did I mention Owen has already claimed eternal shotgun?

I look over at Elsie, and all of a sudden, I’m really nervous. If Elsie says yes, she will be the first girl to ride in my car, with the exception of my mom. I try not to drive myself crazy with the possibilities. I run my tongue over my teeth, because I don’t want there to be any spinach stuck in them (or whatever that green stuff was at lunch). Then I tighten my grip on the handles of my forearm crutches, and start limping awkwardly in Elsie’s direction.

Elsie’s got her phone in her hand and she looks like she’s seconds away from bursting into tears. “Elsie?” I say. And of course, my voice cracks, like I’m freaking thirteen years old. I clear my throat, hoping she didn’t notice.

Elsie looks up in surprise. “Yes?”

“Uh…” I can feel the heat in my face—I’m sure Elsie can see it too. I focus on getting the words out and not on how silky Elsie’s hair looks. “I’ve got a car, so, um, if you need a ride or something…”

Elsie is staring at me, which if you ask me, is kind of bad manners. First she stares at my face, but I’m okay with that. There’s nothing wrong with my face. All right, I’m not, like, Mr. Handsome or anything like my brother, but I’m not a guy who walked into a wall either.

Then her eyes drop and she’s looking down at my crutches and my legs. That part I’m not thrilled about. I’ve got braces going up to the knee on the right and up to the hip on the left. Even with the braces, my left leg always seems to rotate inward so that my left foot points about forty-five degrees toward the right one. Elsie keeps on staring for what feels like five hours, but if I’m being honest, it’s probably more like fifteen seconds. Not that it makes much difference. It’s long enough, anyway.

Elsie glances over at a group of girls standing nearby, watching us curiously. “No, thanks,” Elsie says, then she turns back to her phone.

Rejected. Ouch.

Elsie turns away from me, letting me know that there’s zero point in trying to persuade her. Yeah, as if I would. If Elsie doesn’t want to be in a car with me, then I’m not going to beg. Let her find her own goddamn ride home at this hour. Good luck with that, Elsie.

I make my way over to my car, where Owen is waiting. He’s leaning against the hood, probably making a huge dent in it. “So is she coming?”

I dig my keys out of my pocket and shrug like I couldn’t care less. “She found another ride,” I say.

My Review:

This is a book about the insecurities of youth, falling in love, and family loyalty.

Ethan and Alex are twin boys, seniors in their small Wisconsin-town high school. Alex is bigger, more attractive and smarter than Ethan. By virtue of prenatal complications Ethan almost died at birth, he is developmentally delayed and has cerebral palsy. From his own hard work and constant attention, Ethan is a good student, but he can’t walk without his leg braces and arm crutches, while Alex is a star football player, class president and love-em-and-leave-em hook-up artist. Ethan is jealous of his brother’s “easy” life, and wishes desperately for a girlfriend. He knows that he’ll probably never find a girl to love him, and that’s frustrating. He finds one girl in school particularly interesting: Laura, and he spends a lot of time trying to get her attention.

Laura is a high school senior, a bit dumpier than her gorgeous college-aged sister, Nikki. Nikki has never let Laura forget this, either. Their relationship is very strained. One weekend, when Nikki is home visiting from college, she goes out on a date with a hometown boy. She’s later found raped in a park, beaten into unconsciousness. Laura is as appalled as her family, and spends hours and days at the hospital, sitting with comatose Nikki.  The only distraction comes when Laura meets Ethan.

While Laura might be a bit skittish of Ethan, she’s more trapped in a self-hate spiral. She considers herself fat, and isn’t–and never will be–as gorgeous as Nikki, but the attention she receives from Ethan is heady. She wants to be seen as attractive, and finds Ethan to be really charming and cute, and soon forgets all about his leg braces. Ethan’s so floored that Laura isn’t running as fast as she can in the next direction that he’s ecstatic. He and Laura begin to date, on the sly, because Laura doesn’t want and scrutiny and Ethan doesn’t want to be a spectacle. They are seriously mired (realistically) in their insecurities. I liked that they didn’t hold back, and I liked how they worked through their body issues. They have a sweet romance that is fulfilling for both of them–expect sexytimes off the page–and it seems like everything is going great. Well, except that one secret that Ethan learns about a month after dating Laura. And it has everything to do with Nikki and Alex.

I don’t want to reveal too much of the plot, so I’m just going to say that this was a really unique story. I loved the honesty of the characters and I loved the inclusion of a CP character, and I really felt a kinship with Ethan, for all his travails. He’s had it hard, and I could understand why he kept Alex’s secret–because exposure would surely cost him his first love and his brother in one fell swoop.

The family dynamics were so realistically portrayed, with bitter antagonism and sibling rivalry, and overwrought parents and bad decisions. The ending was so good, even if it wasn’t all hearts and flowers. Ethan and Laura come to honest terms with each other, and there is hope for each of them to have happiness. Alex and Nikki both have their situation fully resolved, in a way that’s not storybook and not fairy tale. All bad situations leave a stain, and Alex and Nikki must bear those marks–some for longer than others. It was interesting how these two–who all would say had it made–really held their own problems so close to the vest, and how the whole scenario changed Alex–for the better it seemed.

I hadn’t anticipated the many twists of this book, and that was so refreshing. One niggle for me was the author not knowing that football happens in the fall–only. There were so many references to Alex’s football practice and the team competing, and the book was set January-May. So, that irked me, from a reader standpoint. Otherwise, I really enjoyed.

Interested? You can find HOW TO BE COOL on Goodreads and Amazon.

Thanks for popping in, and keep reading my friends!

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Perfecting THE ART OF NOT BREATHING–A Review

Hi there! Today I’m sharing a review for a contemporary YA novel from Sarah Alexander. THE ART OF NOT BREATHING is a little bit romance, a lotta bit grief and healing, as the main character Elsie struggles with the disintegration of her family after the death of her twin brother.

The Art of Not BreathingAbout the book:
Since her twin brother, Eddie, drowned five years ago, sixteen-year-old Elsie Main has tried to remember what really happened that fateful day on the beach. One minute Eddie was there, and the next he was gone.

Seventeen-year-old Tay McKenzie is a cute and mysterious boy that Elsie meets in her favorite boathouse hangout. When Tay introduces Elsie to the world of freediving, she vows to find the answers she seeks at the bottom of the sea.

My Review:
This is a well-written novel about a family slowly eroding following tragedy. It is set in the Black Isle of Scotland.

Five years ago Elsie’s twin Eddie was swept out to sea while they played at the beach for their 11th birthday. His body was never recovered, and her family has never recovered.

Eddie was a smaller child, and though chronologically 11 years old, he was far smaller than Elsie and not able to be educated in the school system due to developmental delays that may have stemmed from gestational issues or a birthing accident. He was several developmental years behind his twin, and Elsie defended him ruthlessly. They have an elder brother Dillon who witnessed some of the events on the beach that fateful day, but neither he nor Elsie, nor their parents, speak of it. Ever.

We start out the book on the eve of Elsie’s 16th birthday, with the family preparing for their annual memorial visit to the seashore to pay respects to Eddie’s cross. It’s all very emotional, and bitter, what with Elsie feeling forlorn for the loss of her twin, and the loss of her own celebrations. What she rarely admits to anyone is that she “hears” Eddie within her, and she speaks to him often. She wants to know what happened on the day of his drowning, but no one will ever speak of it.

As Elsie makes her way through she suffers horrible bullying, depression, and the knowledge that what remains of her family is disintegrating. Dillon’s got a girlfriend, but there’s something very off about him lately; he’s growing scarily thin. Her father spends as much time at work, or traveling for work, as possible, and her mother is a functional alcoholic.

During the course of the book we learn that Elsie loves spending time near the water, as it helps her feel close to Eddie. Eddie was a boy who loved the shore, and the dolphins, and Elsie creates a haven for herself at an abandoned boating club–which is now being refurbished by Mick, his son Danny and nephew Tay. They want to run scuba tours and freediving classes. Elsie has been continually warned against going into the water, but her rebellious side allows her to be goaded into it–and there she experiences flashbacks of that fateful day.

Driven to determine the full truth of the horrors of Eddie’s final moments, she begins to train with bad-boy Tay, and eventually the mean and enigmatic Danny, so that she can make deep freedives into the inlet where Eddie drowned.

It’s a really fascinating look at the way loss changes the dynamics of a family. There are so many converging problems: her father’s anger and withdrawal, her mother’s depression, her brother’s eating disorder. Elsie, in pseudo middle child form, feels a deep need to piece everything together. The emotions run high, and it’s a thrilling experience for Elsie to have the interest of a boy–for the first time ever. All her training for freediving alters her appearance, and gives her a different mindset–she aches to achieve a final communion with Eddie, and that was really poignant, if rather troubling.

I really related to Elsie’s determination, and understood her seemingly flighty nature. No one has seemed to care about her in a very long time, so why should she bother? And yet, she finds the strength to do so. She’s not a very admirable character, in many ways, but I felt that her faults were those of circumstance. She feels as if she’s a pariah, and she’s often treated that way. Tay is the one guy who sees her, not the Twin Who Lived, and that’s a refreshing experience for a girl who mostly fades into the shadows.

In all, the book was interesting, and I found myself rapidly turning the pages as the drama became more and more intense. Expect some super dark moments, and a renewed life for a girl whose seemed to end when her twin died. The ending is definitely upbeat.

Interested? You can find THE ART OF NOT BREATHING on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble. I received a review copy via NetGalley.

About the Author:
Sarah Alexander grew up in London with dreams of exploring the world and writing stories. After spending several years wandering the globe and getting into all sorts of scrapes, she returned to London to complete a Master’s degree in Creative Writing at Birkbeck College in 2013. Previous jobs include: tomato picker, travel consultant, mental-health support worker and suitcase administrator. Now she works in publishing. Sarah lives in London with her husband and two chickens. THE ART OF NOT BREATHING is her first novel.

You can catch up with Sarah online on her website and twitter.

Thanks for popping in and keep reading my friends.

Cries For Help: TONE DEAF–A Review

Hi there! Today I’m sharing a review for a new contemporary YA romance from Olivia Rivers. TONE DEAF is a story about a rocker and a deaf girl finding solace and safety together.

Tone DeafAbout the book:
Ali Collins was a child prodigy destined to become one of the greatest musicians of the twenty-first century—until she was diagnosed with a life-changing brain tumor. Now, at seventeen, Ali lives in a soundless world where she gets by with American Sign Language and lip-reading. She’s a constant disappointment to her father, a retired cop fighting his own demons, and the bruises are getting harder to hide.

When Ali accidentally wins a backstage tour with the chart-topping band Tone Deaf, she’s swept back into the world of music. Jace Beckett, the nineteen-year-old lead singer of the band, has a reputation. He’s a jerk and a player, and Ali wants nothing to do with him. But there’s more to Jace than the tabloids let on. When Jace notices Ali’s bruises and offers to help her escape to New York, Ali can’t turn down the chance at freedom and a fresh start. Soon she’s traveling cross-country, hidden away in Jace’s RV as the band finishes their nationwide tour. With the help of Jace, Ali sets out to reboot her life and rediscover the music she once loved.

My Review:
This is an engaging, innocent, YA rock romance.

Ali is a 17 y/o girl whose charmed life has taken disastrous turns. She was a child prodigy, playing concert halls in NYC before she even turned double digits, but a surgical procedure rendered her totally deaf. At the same time her mother was killed and she was relocated to LA in her estranged father’s care. These days, her father is a retired decorated police chief who is an alcoholic and an abuser.

While at a concert with her best friend, Ali is selected to win a behind-the-scenes tour with the lead singer of the pop/punk boy band, Jace. Jace turns out to be just as much of a jerk as the press has led Ali to believe. He’s unconscionably rude, and Ali leaves without taking the tour. Pressed to make amends, Jace offers Ali a large sum of money for her to return to the arena and take the tour–to stave off a PR nightmare. Ali only agrees because the money could provide her with a fresh start, and send her far from her abusive and controlling father.

This time, Jace notices that Ali knows a lot about music, and also, that she’s bruised in ways with which he can totally identify. He was an abused child, too. He’s immediately engaged in her plight, offering to whisk her away on his tour–and drop her in NYC as that’s the last stop.

Along the way, Ali and Jace become close–not in a sexy way. Jace knows that Ali can’t be found, as she’s explained her father’s resources. Jace convinces his band that he needs to help her–and they need to trust him. This trust gets strained as Ali’s disappearance becomes national news, and the risk of her discovery hiding on Jace’s RV is high. The days turn to weeks, and Ali makes herself useful, managing Jace’s social media and helping him with some of his songs in-progress.

What I loved about the book was the way Ali was portrayed. She never wallowed in her misfortune. Her desperation to get away from her father and build a whole new life was palpable. I liked the way her deafness was described and explored, and also her communication between her friends, Jace, and her interactions in the world were all well-sketched. I also loved the diversity of the band members, who are childhood friends and form their own family–of sorts. Two of the guys are openly gay, and in a loving relationship together, which was a positive aspect. Jace is a jerk, a broken person due to years of abuse. His experience helping Ali, and getting to know her as a person, opens his eyes, heart and mind, to let some of his long-standing anger bleed out.

I had a few problems with some structural aspects of the book. Part of this was “reality” problems. I had a hard time believing that Ali’s surgical issue would have rendered her completely deaf in both ears. It’s a medical stretch and virtually impossible, as described. That’s my own two cents, as a physiologist who taught medical students. I had to simply accept that, and I couldn’t, not once I got the whole “story,” but most lay readers won’t know this is an issue. I also have a little trouble with the pacing of this rock tour. It seems to travel at a snail’s pace, and I couldn’t understand the logistics. I’m a big fan of music. Concert tours are streamlined and efficient travelers. They pack up each night when a show ends and hit the road…immediately. They have shows lined up every few days, especially in the summer season, and the talent doesn’t drive the RV for a band as the one described in the book. Those are my niggles, and are based in reality. Most readers likely won’t have such a critical eye.

The story, as it unfolds, is interesting. The budding romance is tender, with only a few kisses and chaste hugs exchanged. There’s a lot of healing from heartache, for both Ali and Jace. I had a lot of tension awaiting Ali’s discovery, and the payoff was rewarding. When the climax comes, it seems a bit late in the game, but I liked how it turned out.

Interested? You can find TONE DEAF on Goodreads, Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

About the Author:
Olivia Rivers is a hybrid author of Young Adult fiction. Her works include the independently published “Tortured Elements” and “Duplicity” series, along with the traditionally published novel “Tone Deaf” (Sky Horse 2016.) As a certified geek, she enjoys experimenting with new publishing technologies, and her online serials have received over 1,000,000 hits on Wattpad.com. When Olivia isn’t working as a writer, she’s a typical teen attending college in Northern California. Olivia is represented by Laurie McLean of Fuse Literary, and nothing thrills her more than hearing from readers.

You can reach Olivia online on her website, Facebook and twitter.

Thanks for popping in, and keep reading my friends!

 

 

Destructive Grief: YOU WERE HERE-A Review

Hi there! Today I’m sharing a review for a contemporary YA novel form Cori McCarthy. YOU WERE HERE is a page-turner for no other reason but to watch a trainwreck of grief tear through the lives of several teens. I had terrible thoughts that this would turn out tragically, but I was spared that by some amazing moments of grace and introspection, and, well…hope.

You Were HereAbout the book:

Grief turned Jaycee into a daredevil, but can she dare to deal with her past?

On the anniversary of her daredevil brother’s death, Jaycee attempts to break into Jake’s favorite hideout—the petrifying ruins of an insane asylum. Joined by four classmates, each with their own brand of dysfunction, Jaycee discovers a map detailing her brother’s exploration and the unfinished dares he left behind.

As a tribute to Jake, Jaycee vows to complete the dares, no matter how terrifying or dangerous. What she doesn’t bargain on is her eccentric band of friends who challenge her to do the unthinkable: reveal the parts of herself that she buried with her brother.

My Review:

This was a tough book to read, because there are so many elements of grief and depression. That said, it really pulled me in, and I liked how it all worked out.

Jaycee Strangelove is a girl in crisis. Her beloved daredevil of an elder brother Jake died five years ago, challenged to a parkour feat he’d completed a thousand times before–but not while drunk, maybe. In an instant he was gone, but his loss created a ripple effect which still has power. Those waves are beating Jaycee’s sanity to pieces. Her best friend, Natalie, an unknown witness to the event abandoned her not long after Jake’s death. Ryan, a selective mute and Jake’s good friend, has tried to get over his role in the tragedy–and his long-time crush on Jaycee.

In the wake of Natalie and Jaycee’s high school graduation they reconnect, as Natalie and her boyfriend Zach and another friend, Bishop, discover Jaycee’s intent to recreate some of Jake’s stunts/adventures. Ryan is a silent witness to the ordeals, providing the kind of assistance he wished would have saved Jake so many years ago.

This is a book that’s told by five voices–and each is a person dealing with loss. The summer after graduation should be filled with big plans and parties and fun, but it’s not like that for this motley crew. They are instead “urbanex”-ing–exploring abandoned and derelict urban structures for fun. Jaycee has a map and journal used by her brother before he died, and she wants to visit each space to be in a place he once was. It’s a dangerous pastime, and results in more than one serious injury. While Jaycee hunts for the fleeting connection with her idolized brother, she puts herself and others at risk, time and again. This recklessness is what keeps Ryan coming back–he can’t bear to let Jaycee hurt herself, and she’s barely got a grip on reality, as it stands. Her mother has been in and out of in-patient therapy since Jake died, and Natalie’s a sometimes there, yet completely messed up, Type-A gal seeking a future her mother outlined. Jaycee’s father tries to hold things together, but he’s stretched so thin, and really just wants his family to heal.

In the meantime, there are several other issues, including teen substance abuse, domestic abuse, and love. Yes, love, because it exists within all these real spaces. A whole lot of truth-telling is the order of the summer, and seeing the end of the journey together, too. The adventures create an intimacy that can only exist for people who have long histories and shared pain. As outwardly self-destructive as Jaycee is, the same experience exists for Natalie and Zach–only inwardly. Bishop’s coming to terms with a bad relationship/break-up is just as gut-wrenching for him, and Ryan, well Ryan needs to be real with Jaycee before he doesn’t have a chance.

It took me a little time to bond with the characters, but there are some excellent voices here, and the presentation of each was stunning. Expect some graphic novel-type elements–which were wholly unique and enjoyable to me as a novel reader. I also loved the story and its resolution. Grief is such a soul-sucking experience, and it has the ability to ravage each of us in very different ways. The book was excellent at demonstrating it’s varied and destructive power while still bringing the reader, and characters, back to a hopeful place in the end.

Interested? You can find YOU WERE HERE on Goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble. I received a review copy of this book via NetGalley.

About the Author:

Cori is the author of several YA books. Kirkus called her debut novel, THE COLOR OF RAIN, “[an] elegantly written and emotionally cathartic page-turner.” Her second novel, BREAKING SKY, received starred reviews from School Library Journal and the Bulletin for the Center of Children’s Books and is currently in development to become a film by Sony Pictures. Kirkus reviewed it as “smart, exciting, confident–and quite possibly the next Big Thing.” Her third book, YOU WERE HERE, is a contemporary mixed media novel that earned a starred review from the Bulletin for the Center of Children’s Books and was hailed a VOYA Best Book.

Cori’s novel in verse, Name Me America, won the Middle Grade category for the 2014 Katherine Paterson Prize. Cori is also the co-founder of Rainbow Boxes, a charitable initiative aiming to bring LGBTQIA fiction to community libraries and GSAs across America. Tweet @RainbowBoxesYA or watch a three minute commercial for the initiative.

Cori is a contributing blogger at Through the Tollbooth and a freelance editor with Yellow Bird Editor.

You can find Cori online on her website, Facebook, and twitter.

Thanks for popping in, and keep reading my friends!

Captivated by SIMON Vs. THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA–A Review

Hi there! Today I’m sharing a review for a contemporary M/M YA romance form Becky Albertalli. SIMON VS. THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA is a book that has met with critical acclaim, and for good reason. It’s fantastic. As a YA romance it’s not steamy, but it’s got so much heart, and a beautifully told coming-out story. Today is this is the First Book-iversary, as it was originally published 4/7/15, so I thought I’d give it a shout out.

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens AgendaAbout the book:

Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.

With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.

My Review:

I just adored this YA contemporary coming out M/M romance.

Simon is a 17 y/o junior growing up in a suburb of Atlanta. His school is mixed and he has friends of color, notably Abby his close friend. His longtime friends Leah and Nick are kind and fun, but a bit more sedate than Abby who is a cheerleader and the object of admiration of many males–firstly, Nick, who is simultaneously the crush of Leah. Makes for an awkward dynamic for Simon. Secondly, Martin Addison, a goofy, lanky boy in the drama club who is infatuated with Abby enough that he blackmails Simon to ingratiate himself into their “group”.

See, Simon is a closeted gay teen, and he has an anonymous email pen pal–another gay teen (calling himself Blue) at his high school. They have been in contact for the past few months, using pseudonyms and decoy email addresses in order to safely explore their places in the world. The emails serve as a sounding board/confessional/journal for the boys and Martin intercepted these communications one day when Simon neglected to completely log out of the library computer. Martin’s an (almost) decent kid who makes some seriously d-bag decisions, and Simon has to decide if he wants to go along with Martin’s plans, or come out. And this is something he can’t reveal to Blue because he’s afraid that Blue will stop communicating with him to protect his own secrets.

It’s a beautifully written teen romance with no steam and some real fun. There is limited angst, and when it does exist it’s not all about the gay thing. Simon’s nervous about the status of his friendships in general. Leah’s frustrated about Nick liking Abby, and Simon always feels in the middle of that. Plus, Leah’s disappearing more and more from their hang out time, and Nick’s not helping by being ignorant to Leah’s feelings.

On the homefront, Simon’s got a rather supportive set of parents, even if his dad makes some off-color jokes regarding gays. Words he’s later sorry for. I loved the family dynamic, and how close-knit it is. Simon makes a “choice” (under duress pretty much) to come out and that causes a bit of a ruffle, but not in the expected way.

I don’t want to give away too much of the plot, but I believe even if I gave a verbatim account of the book it’s STILL a worthwhile read. Simon’s character is a fantastic sketch of today’s youth. He’s not quite sure why he has to come out as “gay” when all those around him don’t have to reveal, or explain, their straightness. And, that’s an interesting idea. When Simon becomes a “topic” at the high school his friends aren’t just in his corner, they are ready to do battle. Even people who aren’t his particular friends are willing to step forward on his behalf. It’s a heartening scene, especially as it’s set in the Deep South. that said, expect some instances of homophobia.

Also, I nearly wet myself when they all went to the “gay”-borhood in Atlanta and Simon was a bit too adventurous. So sweet and cute and endearing.

In all, Simon’s dearest wish is to meet Blue. After five months of sharing his most secret and personal self online he just wants to meet the boy he considers his boyfriend. Blue’s so resistant, and when Blue discovers Simon’s identity and still won’t meet?  It’s more than a little crushing.

Don’t fear though. The books sings with an HEA. It’s just the right amount of tenderness, and there’s no doubt that Blue is just as smitten with Simon. This is a book that I’d recommend to all readers of contemporary YA. It’s completely innocent sexually, and has only a tiny bit of alcohol use. There is strong language at times, including f-bombs, which were not a trouble for me, especially as I was reading a 17 y/o boy’s perspective.

I loved the diversity here. There are a few prominent black characters, and a couple who are Jewish, and others who have no religion and some who are religious and some who are gay, straight or bisexual. The mix was refreshing and fun and awkward and whole. I loved the meddling and the machinations, and the high school antics and hi jinks and the blessed union of Simon and Blue and an end that I never wanted to reach. I’d read about Simon and his life for volumes, probably.

Interested? You can find SIMON Vs. THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes and goodness knows how many other discount outlets and your local library.

About the Author:

You can find out all about Becky Albertalli on her website, which is really, really something. She’s also on twitter and There are some notes in the webspace that she’s working on a loosely-connected sequel-of-sorts to SIMON, and people are clamoring for it. Me among them.

She’s Totes ADORKABLE–Review and Giveaway!

Adorkable tour NEW banner
Hi there! Today I’m excited to share a review for a contemporary YA romance from Cookie O’Gorman. ADORKABLE is a sweet and innocent friends-to-couple tale about a geeky gal and her BFF soccer jock.

Catch my review and be sure to enter the $25 Amazon GC giveaway below.

adorkable-finalAbout the book:
Adorkable (ah-dor-kuh-bul): Descriptive term meaning to be equal parts dorky and adorable. For reference, see Sally Spitz.
Seventeen-year-old Sally Spitz is done with dating. Or at least, she’s done with the horrible blind dates/hookups/sneak attacks her matchmaking bestie, Hooker, sets her up on. There’s only so much one geek girl and Gryffindor supporter can take.

Her solution: she needs a fake boyfriend. And fast.

Enter Becks, soccer phenom, all-around-hottie, and Sally’s best friend practically since birth. When Sally asks Becks to be her F.B.F. (fake boyfriend), Becks is only too happy to be used. He’d do anything for Sal–even if that means giving her PDA lessons in his bedroom, saying she’s “more than pretty,” and expertly kissing her at parties.

The problem: Sally’s been in love with Becks all her life–and he’s completely clueless.

This book features two best friends, one special edition Yoda snuggie, countless beneath-the-ear kisses and begs the question:

Who wants a real boyfriend when faking it is so much more fun?

My Review:

Sally Spitz is an unfashionable senior in languishing in tiny, soccor-loving Chariot, NC. Her divorced mother and matchmaking bestie, Hooker, want her to find love. Or, at least a date. So, they keep setting her up with random people–even girls, just in case she swings that way.

Thing is, Sally’s always had a crush on her best guy friend, Becks. He’s a soccer phenom with a sure college scholarship, and no other guy (because she really does like guys!) measures up. Becks never settles on a girl, always finding someone new–and there are plenty of gals who swoon for his scruffy good looks. In order to derail any further ambush dates, Sal begs Becks to be her “fake” boyfriend for one month. She figures that she’ll put up a good show, enjoy time with Becks, and then suffer a horrible “break up” that will keep the matchmakers at bay for the rest of senior year.

Thing is, being with Becks is both horrible and wonderful. It’s all Sally ever dreamed of, and she knows it’s going to kill her when this ends and Becks goes back to his merry dating self. I liked how real all of that felt. And I did like the introduction of a glitch in the form of Ace, one of Beck’s teammates whose long harbored a crush on Sally.

This one is fun and sweet and, at times, bittersweet with an HEA ending. I liked Sally and Becks, they each have strong feelings for the other. I loved how Becks refused to name his college of choice until he could guarantee being near Sally. I think, however, the book suffered just a bit from a case of the Briticisms–namely some British sentiments, character naming, and idiom that seemed out of place for this southern US locale. Also, there was a disconnect in the time frame that made little logical sense–the book opens in autumn, and there’s talk about graduation and getting out of school that seems imminent (weeks!). These kids wouldn’t graduate for 9 months…and so that was a bit of a head scratcher.

That said, the prose is fun and the pace is appropriate. It’s a squeaky clean read with less than a handful of kisses in the whole story.

Interested? You can find ADORKABLE on Goodreads and Amazon.

****GIVEAWAY****

Click on this Rafflecopter giveaway link for your chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card.
Good luck and keep reading my friends!

cookie o'gormanAbout the Author
Cookie O’Gorman writes YA romance to give readers a taste of happily-ever-after. Small towns, quirky characters, and the awkward yet beautiful moments in life make up her books. Cookie also has a soft spot for nerds and ninjas. Her debut novel ADORKABLE will be released in 2016.

Catch up to Cookie on her website, Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads.

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Battling the CURSE OF THE SPHINX–Review and Giveaway!

Curse of the Sphinx tour banner
Hi there! I’m happy to share a review for a new YA romance adventure from Raye Wagner. CURSE OF THE SPHINX is a contemporary imagining of a world where Greek Gods still rule, immortal demigods and monsters walk among mortals, and murderous Skia keep the balance. It was rather inventive and thoroughly engaging.

Check out my review below, and be sure to enter the giveaway for a $50 Amazon gift card.

cursecoverbiggerAbout the book:
How long can a monster stay hidden in plain sight?

Seventeen year-old Hope Nicholas has spent her entire life on the run. But no one is chasing her. In fact, no one even knows she exists. With her mom, she’s traveled from town to town and school to school, barely staying long enough to meet anyone, let alone make friends. And she’ll have to keep it that way. It’s safer.

When her mother is brutally ripped away from her, Hope’s life shatters. Is this the fulfillment of Apollo’s curse, murder from the shadow monsters of the Underworld? Or, have the demigods finally found her? Orphaned and alone, Hope flees again, but this time there’s no one to teach her who to trust—or how to love.

Set in a universe where mythology is alive and well in the modern world, Curse of the Sphinx irresistibly blends action, suspense and romance.

My Review:
This is a fun YA spin on contemporary mythology. The gods of Greece still rule from afar and their sired children, demigods, walk amongst the mortals. They are not many in number, and are often collected into conservatories in order to keep them safe from Skia, the spawn of Hades who hunt them and bring them to the Underworld. All of society understands that gods exist, or did, and kids learn Mythology as a regular subject in school. Much like the demigods of yore, monsters of myth live, too.

Hope is trapped in a curse that spans thousands of years. Her grandmother was the famed Sphinx at Thebes, and each female offspring is immortal, a monster and untouchable by any other than Apollo or his sons. Hope’s mother fell for a mortal and sealed the curse of Apollo–and was punished for it. Orphaned and alone at age 16, Hope must find a way to survive her curse, and also society. She moves to a small town in eastern Washington and endeavors to get past her grief.

It’s not easy. She has plenty of money, thanks to her grandmother’s golden treasure, but she’s never been on her own. She knows she should keep moving, running from the Skia that she sees with more and more regularity, but she has managed to make friends for the first time in her life. Plus, being a vagabond brings another element of vulnerability that Hope cannot truly contend with.

Athan, a new student in school seems to charm everyone–except Hope. She’s upset with the world, though, and his sympathy eventually allows him access to her isolated realm. Expect the usual high school cattiness. I liked how Hope stood up for herself, and attempted to right wrongs. Her grief was deep, and her world so sheltered. She’s not sure what to do with the growing feelings she has for Athan, but she’s not willing to tell him her true secret. When she learns he’s a demigod her brief respite must end. She’s got to get on the road. Now. Or, so she thinks.

I really liked all the supernatural elements of this one. The prose is a mostly effortless read with plenty of tension scattered throughout. Athan’s a swaggering boy, but he drops that act once he gets to know Hope. He could never have guessed her true nature, but he handles the big secret very, very well. It’s not ideal for him to love Hope, mostly because his father, Hermes, has some big plans to use Hope as a frustration to Apollo. That said, Athan acts honorably. This is a bit of YA romance, but it’s completely clean and age-appropriate. Well, if you don’t count the violence. For some reason violence is far more acceptable behavior for teens than sexytimes, but I digress.

All-in-all, the plot is interesting, Hope’s big secret is different from one I’ve read before, and the book ends with new trouble on the horizon. So expect a MILD cliffhanger because the next book seems to be a completely new adventure for Hope. Not a problem for me, as this is a series I’d gladly dive into.

Interested? You can find CURSE OF THE SPHINX on Goodreads and Amazon.

****GIVEAWAY****

Click on this Rafflecopter giveaway link for your chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card.
Good luck and keep reading my friends!

raye wagnerAbout the Author:
Raye Wagner grew up in Seattle, the second of eight children, and learned to escape chaos through the pages of fiction. As a youth, she read the likes of David Eddings, Leon Uris, and Jane Austen. Inspired by a fictional character, Raye pursued a career in nursing, thinking to help the world one patient at a time. One summer afternoon, when her then young children were playing in the pool, a plot dropped into her head, and she started writing.

She enjoys baking, puzzles, Tae Kwon Do, and the sound of waves lapping at the sand. She lives with her husband and three children in Middle Tennessee. Origin of the Sphinx, a novella detailing the story leading up to the creation of the mythological creature, is her first publication. It is the beginning of the Sphinx series.

You can catch up to Raye online on her website, Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads.

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Clashing Love: THE GIRL AND THE GARGOYLE–A Review

the girl and the gargoyle tour banner newHi there! Today I’m sharing a review for a contemporary YA urban fantasy from Pauline Gruber. THE GIRL AND THE GARGOYLE is the sequel to THE GIRL AND THE RAVEN and filled with demons, gargoyles and witches. Oh, and few normal humans as well…

As Lucy soon learns, it’s not easy loving a gargoyle when you’re a half demon. Think Romeo and Juliet. With demons.

the girl and the gargoyleAbout the book:
Good versus evil just got even more complicated…

Being half-witch/half-demon and dating Marcus, a gargoyle, is complicated enough for Lucy. She can almost tolerate Jude, her demon father, implementing demon training. But when Marcus’s family arrives in Chicago, her world begins to crumble. Marcus’s mother wants him to return to the gargoyle clan where he belongs; his father wants Marcus to help him kill Jude. There’s one very major problem with this: if Jude dies, Lucy dies.

Marcus works with other supernaturals to help save Jude and Lucy. Meanwhile, Lucy has her own plan and with the aid of a surprise newcomer, seeks help from the most unlikely—and dangerous—source.

How about a little taste?

Jude balances a fresh fireball in the palm of his hand. He lobs it at me, and I hold my hand up. I envision my hand as a brick wall. Big, strong, impenetrable. I imagine it swelling, doubling in size and strength. As the fireball comes within six inches of my hand, I step toward it and lob it back to Jude. The fireball moves toward Jude, but sputters out before it reaches him.

“Pretty lame if you ask me,” Dylan calls out.

“Funny thing, no one asked you!” I snap.

“Again,” Jude calls out. “This time put some power behind it.” We repeat it again. I struggle to ignore Dylan’s taunts. Idiot.

What is it with him? Why won’t Jude and Henry reprimand him? I wait until the fireball is two inches from me then whack it back to Jude hard. He lunges to the left to avoid being hit.

“Nice job, Lucy,” Henry says.

“For a girl,” Dylan adds.

I spin around and throw a fireball at him. It slams against his shoulder. He tamps out the flames and flashes a big grin my way. “Is that all you’ve got?”

I take a step toward him. “Keep it up. There’s more where that came from.”

Dylan laughs. “You’ve got nothing. Without Daddy to protect you—and everyone else—you’re nothing.”

My Review:
This is the second book in a series, and needs to be read in order. In truth, I think they should be read directly one after the other, because I had a bit of trouble with the many characters, and all their powers, being in action when I opened this book–as it’s been nearly two years since I finished THE GIRL AND THE RAVEN.

To sum up:
Lucy is the daughter of Jude, a very powerful demon as he was Lucifer’s right hand man. Her human mother was the daughter of a powerful witch, but her love affair with Jude turned her into a mess, and a junkie. Lily grew up in abject poverty until her mother OD-ed and she went to live in the care of her Great Uncle Sheldon and his partner, Uncle Bernard. This cozy threesome lives in the first floor of a 3-flat in Chicago, imagine a tall narrow building that has a separate apartment on each of three levels. On the second floor is Aiden and Marcus, who are both supernatural–Aidan’s a demon and Marcus is a Protector, and takes the form of a gargoyle at night. On the third floor is Persephone, a witch who was part of gram’s former triad. Persephone’s been teaching Lucy witchcraft, how to use it and how to conjure spells. So, Lucy’s half-demon, half-witch, and totally in love with Marcus, a match that’s not generally acceptable.

See, Protectors and demons clash, quite literally. And when Marcus’ family returns as if from the dead–Marcus had been abandoned to his human stepfather at age four, and has been living with Aiden since a year ago when his stepfather died–it sets a whole lot of action in motion. Will Marcus leave to join his father’s Protector clan? Lucy’s stricken that he might, and that’s a big problem as there are demons out there who want to kill Lucy, and Marcus is a valiant protector, as well as having magical blood that heals all wounds.

But the reason Marcus’ family has arrived in Chicago is dire–they want to kill Jude, as the rumors are flying that he’s been killing Protectors willy-nilly. Is the threat real? Are the rumors true? Lucy can’t determine what’s true, but the search is on because killing Jude will destroy his bloodline, and any of his progeny: in short, Jude dies = Lucy dies.

So, this is an interesting story with plenty of action and a lot of wrangling. Lucy and Marcus need to seek help from some rather unsavory supernaturals in order to cobble together enough power to combat the onslaught of untold numbers of Protectors. However, the more they tangle with the Protectors, the more they recognize something foul in their midst. It’s a confounding issue that harkens to some seriously dirty business in Protectorville. I had a bit of trouble with this book, for my own self, because there are so many characters. Probably more than fifty, and not all of them are even close to important. Lucy is a junior in high school, so we have cattyiness central going down with the lunch crew. And, there’s a love triangle between Lucy, Marcus and Dylan–a boy at Lucy’s school who is Jude’s protege; there’s something not good brewing between Dylan and Lucy, who’d only always been friends. Until now. Somehow, Lucy’s physical maturity and the demon pheromones are a siren’s song mashing her and Dylan together–much to to Marcus’ frustration.

I liked how the pace of the story allowed Lucy to hone her skills, both as a witch and a demon. There are a couple of moments when I was struck by improbability woes, but the story adds realistic elements of Lucy being NOT a natural, at anything. She’s got to work for all the goals, and she’s a kind and compassionate person at heart–no matter her paternity.

At times, I felt like there was too much happening, and it wasn’t central to the plot. Time and again I had to recall who was who, and how they mattered. And there were delays due to Lucy mooning on and off regarding her relationship with Marcus and her friendship-ish with Dylan. She and Marcus both have to deal with scorn from Marcus’ father and his uber-conniving mother. There seems to be a bond developing between Marcus and his sister, and that’s good because they need all the protection Jude can get. The end is an epic battle that resulted in sort-of-evil triumphing over definitely-bad-bad-bad, which was a bit Pyrrhic. I liked how it all worked out, but the stage is set for further machinations which Lucy is not privy to. This book allowed a few other characters to grab POV in chapters to advance the story, and so the reader knows that Lucy is still in grave danger, even as she’s survived this current storm.

Interested? You can find THE GIRL AND THE GARGOYLE on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo and Smashwords.

The Girl and the RavenDon’t forget to check out my review on THE GIRL AND THE RAVEN, the first book in this series.

Lucy’s hard luck life improves with her move to Chicago, but she’s soon caught up between forces she never imagined, and that’s not the worst part. Nope, learning you aren’t orphan is cold comfort when your dad turns out to be a demon.

Interested? You can find the THE GIRL AND THE RAVEN at Goodreads, Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Pauline GruberAbout the Author:
Pauline Gruber is a self-professed music junkie, cat wrangler, and travel nut. She went to Paris in the 90’s where she discovered a love of three things: croissants, old cathedrals, and gargoyles. Deciding that the paranormal world could use a new kind of hero, Pauline translated her fascination with the protective gargoyle into a suspenseful love story. She is the author of the young adult series, The Girl and the Raven, The Girl and the Gargoyle and the forthcoming novel, The Girl and the Demon. By day, Pauline is a legal assistant for a Chicago law firm where she steals identities and incorporates them into her books. If you tell anyone, she’ll deny, deny, deny.

Pauline lives outside of Chicago with her precocious black cats.

You can catch up with Pauline online on her website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Tumblr, and Pinterest.

Thanks for popping in and keep reading my friends!

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FLIP THE BIRD Cover Reveal and Giveaway!

Hi there! Today I’m hosting a cover reveal for a “flighty” contemporary YA romance from Kym Brunner. FLIP THE BIRD pits a young falconer against a fledgling animal rights activist–and the feathers are sure to fly! (Okay, okay. I’ll stop with the puns already!)

Catch the blurb and get in on the $25 Amazon gc giveaway below.

Without feather, erm, further ado:

FLIP-THE-BIRD-2

About the book:
Mercer Buddie wants two things in this world: a girlfriend and the chance to prove to his master falconer father that he’s not a flake. With hunting season fast approaching, fourteen-year-old Mercer has only a short time to work with Flip, a red-tailed hawk he irreverently named to show his dad that falconers don’t have to be so serious all the time.

When Mercer meets Lucy, he falls hard for her gorgeous looks and bubbly personality. He thinks his love life is about to take flight, until he discovers that Lucy and her family belong to a fanatical animal-rights organization called HALT—a group that believes imposing any sort of restrictions on animals is a form of cruelty. Mercer soon realizes that if he wants to keep seeing Lucy, he’ll need to keep his love of falconry and his family’s raptor rehabilitation center a secret from her, and Lucy’s involvement with HALT from his family.

With humor and honesty, Mercer’s story shows how growing up means making difficult choices…and sometimes, being rewarded in unexpected ways.

This one sounds so great! I’ve already reviewed two of Kym’s previous titles: WANTED: DEAD OR IN LOVE, a contemporary Bonnie and Clyde paranormal romance and ONE SMART COOKIE, a fun ethnic YA Romance. Now, I’m eager to read all about Mercer’s travails. It releases November 1st, and I’ll be first in line to get a review out!

Interested? You can find out more about FLIP THE BIRD on Goodreads, and it’s available for pre-order on Amazon.

****GIVEAWAY****

Click on this Rafflecopter Giveaway link for your chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card!

Good luck and keep reading my friends!

About the Author:
Kym Brunner dreams entire novels in her head, but needs about a year to write it all down.  She wishes there was an app for this. She’s addicted to chai tea, going to the movies, and reality TV. When she’s not reading or writing, Kym teaches 7th grade full time. Her article, Cracking Down on Multiple POVs:  Surrender and Nobody Gets Hurt, appeared in Writer’s Digest online (July, 2014). She is the author of two traditionally published novels: a YA suspense-thriller, Wanted: Dead or In Love (Merit Press, 2014) and a YA humorous romance, One Smart Cookie (Omnific Publishing, 2014). She lives in the Chicago area with her family and her two trusty writing companions, a pair of Shih Tzus named Sophie and Kahlua.

You can find Kym online on her website, twitter, Facebook, or subscribe to her newsletter.

Controversial YA in FIRSTS–A Review

Hi there! It’s 2016 and as a resolution, I’m on a quest to read books that have been challenged or banned. Despite all the reading I do, it’s not the easiest for me, as I generally read books that are newly published, or soon to be published. Books that make the Banned or Challenged list with the American Librarian’s Association are generally books that have been out in circulation for a while. So there will be some throw-back books, for sure, but I’m also going to highlight books that are controversial enough that I think they might one day make the list.

Today, I’m sharing a review for FIRSTS by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn is a contemporary YA novel with romantic elements. I think you’ll understand why the book has what I call a ‘trainwreck’ plot–in that we can all see the horrific turns and expect a figurative blood bath for the protagonist. The story/content are explicit enough that I would be shocked if there are no objections to this book in the offing. (Not that I condone censorship!!! Just sayin’!)

FirstsAbout the book:
Seventeen-year-old Mercedes Ayres has an open-door policy when it comes to her bedroom, but only if the guy fulfills a specific criteria: he has to be a virgin. Mercedes lets the boys get their awkward, fumbling first times over with, and all she asks in return is that they give their girlfriends the perfect first time- the kind Mercedes never had herself.

Keeping what goes on in her bedroom a secret has been easy- so far. Her absentee mother isn’t home nearly enough to know about Mercedes’ extracurricular activities, and her uber-religious best friend, Angela, won’t even say the word “sex” until she gets married. But Mercedes doesn’t bank on Angela’s boyfriend finding out about her services and wanting a turn- or on Zach, who likes her for who she is instead of what she can do in bed.

When Mercedes’ perfect system falls apart, she has to find a way to salvage her reputation and figure out where her heart really belongs in the process. Funny, smart, and true-to-life, FIRSTS is a one-of-a-kind young adult novel about growing up.

My Review:
FIRSTS features a supremely unlikeable MC, Mercedes, a high school senior who is spending her un-chaperoned nights sexually-educating the clueless virgins of her high school.

Yep. Guys nervous about your first time with your girlfriend? Call Mercedes. On the super-down-low, though, as you wouldn’t want your actual girlfriend to find out you had a one-nighter with another girl.

Okay–so THIS BOOK has a trainwreck plot. Mercedes is a smart girl, awaiting her MIT acceptance, with a wealthy father she hasn’t seen in three years and a Cali socialite mother whose longest relationship has been with her plastic surgeon. Kim, as Mercedes calls her mom, is despicably clueless and emotionally abusive. Mercedes has been wholly shamed into strict diets and couture life, with little to no parental affection. I know, I know…poor little rich girl. Still, the absence of parenting leaves Mercedes vulnerable to predation when she’s young–and her own first time was little more than acquaintance rape by a manipulative older boy when she was thirteen.

And, Mercedes doesn’t want the fumbling firsts for other girls. She’s sure her “good deeds” will be of benefit, but she’s rapidly sucked into some rotten scenarios under the misapprehension of control. Mercedes thinks basically anonymous sex will protect her from the hurt/pain of connection with another human. Also, she thinks setting the mood and being in her own sanctuary–her boudoir–will provide control to a situation that is fraught with intimate danger. All of these fallacies become plain to Mercedes as the story goes on. (As the train builds steam going around that blind curve…)

Boys talk. They do. They find a way to use her “service” to their own end, and Mercedes falls into a shame spiral. That’s nothing compared to the shock and EEW of finding herself on the bad end of a one-sided fascination from her best-friend Angela’s virgin boyfriend, Charlie.

Mercedes has few friends. She admits to being bad with people. Really bad. She has excluded herself from the regular company of god-bothering Angela, because Angela’s all about “saving herself” and Mercedes has (essentially) been “ruined” since 8th grade. And, the virgin thing started at the beginning of senior year–so their friendship has become more strained. As more and more boys fill up Mercedes’ log book, Mercedes finds herself more estranged, and seeking further validation. She sets up a regular sex date with her lab partner, Zach, who is a remarkably open-minded guy.

Zach is a great guy, really, and only wants to date Mercedes. He loves her, and is thwarted from telling her, well, by Mercedes who doesn’t want that closeness. New girl Faye also turns Mercedes’ head. There’s an open flirtation there, and it looks like Faye and Mercedes might hit it off, but Charlie’s lurking in the background and doing really REALLY nasty (and illegal) things to ensure his place in Mercedes’ bed–all without Angela finding out.

Expect there to be video fall out. Expect there to be slut-shaming and fighting and angry girlfriends and electronic humiliation and public airing of a pseudo-sex tape. All while NOT ONE ADULT is the wiser. (That sound you heard? That was a a big huh? from me.)

What I liked about this book:
1. The “Life Goes On” message. Mercedes is called to account and harassed, assaulted and nearly raped a second time. Her closest friends stick by her side. They go above and beyond the pale to help cast Mercedes’ deeds into Yesterday’s News.
2. Mercedes learns that her value exists in herself, and that friendship is a valuable endeavor. Mercedes doesn’t believe herself worthy of love or affection–and finds it hard to accept those overtures, from anyone. At first.
3. There are no easy resolutions in life. When you upset people, you have to bear the results of that–not regarding the episodes of assault on school property, however. That shoulda been nipped in the bud by administration. And the Sharpie attacks on her locker would have been painted over by my kids’ schools toot-sweet–not left to languish in all their slur-ry glory…
4. Realistic, if crappy, response to Mercedes’ shenanigans. I’m not a fan of slut-shaming, but this book is actually designed to take on slut-shaming, by being sorta sex positive. So one must endure the firestorm of hate to “endure” it, in Mercedes’ life.

Stuff that made me set the book down for a bit:
1. Trainwreck plot. As a mature woman, I have perspective that Mercedes lacks. I knew her little enterprise would become public knowledge from the outset. When it all got to be TOO much–especially Charlie’s overtures–I needed to take a break. It’s no fun turning every page and wanting to smack the narrator twice.
2. Lack of punishment for Mercedes’ attackers, be they physical or sexual. I had a hard time believing that Charlie’s “punishment” was being outed as a jackass who spilled the beans. What he actually did was criminal, and should have resulted in some legal repercussions. The hallway tormentors also got off with no notice. In what world, I wondered.
3. The double-standard of girl versus boy “promiscuity” was only barely scratched at.

No one is going to find Mercedes or her actions likable. She doesn’t particularly like herself very much, for reasons other than her sexual activity. I believe, however, that some readers will find her sympathetic. Back in my younger days, we had the “Jerry Springer” standard for decency. If your actions didn’t get you called in as a “guest star” on the seedy Jerry Springer Show, then you were still “decent.” Mercedes has a distinct “Jerry Springer” vibe, which makes sense.

All the best trainwrecks appeared on that show.

That said, the book is interesting as a study in moral contrasts and contemporary puritinism. FIRSTS is clearly going to a challenged book for the very fact that kids haz sex, and not just a little bit, in this book. Don’t hope for fade-to-black, everything plays out in cringe-worthy living color.

Interested? You can find FIRSTS on Goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.  I received a review copy of this book via NetGalley.

About the Author:
Laurie Elizabeth Flynn writes contemporary fiction for young adults. Her debut, FIRSTS, will be published by Thomas Dunne Books/St Martin’s Press in 2016.

Laurie went to school for Journalism, where the most important thing she learned was that she would rather write made-up stories than report the news. She also worked as a model, a job that took her overseas to Tokyo, Athens, and Paris.

Laurie now lives in London, Ontario with her husband Steve, who is very understanding when she would rather spend time with the people in her head. Laurie can mostly be found writing happily at her desk, with the world’s most spoiled Chihuahua on her lap. Laurie drinks way too much coffee, snorts when she laughs, and times herself when she does crossword puzzles. Laurie is represented by the amazing Kathleen Rushall of the Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.

You can find Laurie on her website, Goodreads, Facebook and twitter.

Thanks for popping in and keep reading my friends!