Tag: Young Adult (Page 74 of 159)

BOOK REVIEW – Xenophobia by S.B. Roozenboom

August 8, 2016 / Jen / 4 Comments

Xenophobia by S.B. Roozenboom
Purchase on: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
It's been two centuries since the Telumiras arrived and settled on Earth, changing everything including the genetic makeup of humans.

Living in the section of land occupied by her own kind, Ness Kimler tries to be a normal teenager, worrying about her career and finding a mate, questions to be answered at her upcoming graduation.

But before that happens, Ness accidentally crosses the Great Fence separating humans and Telumiras. For 200 years, the barrier has been in place, preserving the peace on a planet divided between two species.

What she finds is that the Fence isn't just about keeping the aliens in; it's about keeping the humans out.

And Ness Kimler just broke the rules.

Review:

Xenophobia quickly pulled me in and before I knew it, l was completely addicted to this story. In that first chapter alone, I already felt connected to our heroine, Ness. Her voice was honest, captivating and watching her struggle had me curious where this book was headed. You see, Ness was a little bit different then her peers. Ever since the aliens came, humans changed. They have cryptosyms on their skin, which are markings that are meant to help you find the best possible path in your life. They tell you what career, mate, number of children etc, would be the best fit for you. Yet Ness’ markings aren’t easily deciphered like her classmates, and I was more than intrigued to find out why.

Enormous, twisting trees towered behind the Fence, evidence of ***them*. Evidence that humans were no longer the only dominant species. Earth was no longer our world.
The aliens now called it home, too.**

The world that was described, and the lifestyle that Ness lived, was fascinating and so unique to me. I loved being in this world! We slowly got immersed while following Ness throughout the day. Which sounds simple enough, until she arrives at home. She lives with her Aunt, and because of what they can afford, they live closest to the border of where the humans and aliens are separated from one another. Personally, I’d be terrified to live so close to the border because of the descriptions of the some of the creatures that sneak into the human side *shudders*. But living in that close proximity is about to completely flip Ness’ life upside down.

***Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God*. I lowered myself closer to the dirt, but even the surrounding foliage couldn’t hide all of me.
It eyes stopped on my silver boots sticking out, tracing them up to my dress, my arms.
We locked eyes.**

Everything that happens, leads Ness to meeting Tevire. And let me hang my head in shame because I didn’t know if I could fall for him in the first few seconds we met him. Yes he’s an alien, and although he looks awfully human, he has many characteristics that make him different. His speech, hair, eyes, nose and the shocker for me was that he even had a tail. But you know what? Tevire slowly seeped into my heart and I found myself completely falling for him. Watching him interact with Ness showed who he truly was. He was selfless. He was protective. He had a sense of humor. He was so many amazing things wrapped up into one beautiful being. But my favorite aspect about him? The things Tevire did to protect Ness was gut wrenching, sweaty palm inducing and entirely swoon worthy.

No one has ever had this kind of chance.

Although Ness and Tevire had a rocky start, I loved how they slowly but steadily morphed into a true friendship. It was such a natural progression. But the more they spent around one another, the chemistry between them seemed to grow hotter and hotter. It got to the point where I wanted to beg them to act on it. I guess you’ll just have to see what happens, since I don’t want to say anything other than they were so much fun to watch.

Xenophobia is truly a hidden gem! There is so much more that I want to talk about, especially with how the story progresses. But this is one of those books where you’re going to want to discover this world by yourself. Xenophobia was such a fun, unique read and I can’t wait to see where this series goes. I will definitely be picking up this authors other books!

*ARC kindly provided by S.B. Roozenboom in exchange for an honest review*

BOOK REVIEW – Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies by Lindsay Ribar

August 3, 2016 / Anna

Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies by Lindsay Ribar
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Twin Peaks meets Stars Hollow in this paranormal suspense novel about a boy who can reach inside people and steal their innermost things—fears, memories, scars, even love—and his family’s secret ritual that for centuries has kept the cliff above their small town from collapsing.

Aspen Quick has never really worried about how he’s affecting people when he steals from them. But this summer he’ll discover just how strong the Quick family magic is—and how far they’ll go to keep their secrets safe.

With a smart, arrogant protagonist, a sinister family tradition, and an ending you won’t see coming, this is a fast-paced, twisty story about power, addiction, and deciding what kind of person you want to be, in a family that has the ability to control everything you are.

I’ll be upfront with you : If you can’t stand unlikeable MCs, you may want to steer clear of this book.*

While we’re at it, I need to point that the Paranormal label is misleading in my opinion : Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies (how’s that for an awesome title?!) reads more like a coming-of-age/mystery novel with important magical-realism elements (I know, it looks complicated XD). Look, I’m the first to say that genres aren’t important and that we shouldn’t choose our books because of some marketing categorization, and I still stand by it, but going into this book expecting some action-packed plot and detailed world-building would only lead to disappointment.

What is it about, then? Well. Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies primarily deals with Aspen’s character growth and what it means to be who we are. All the tiny traits that define us…. What if they’d been stolen? At which point do we stop being ourselves?

Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies (I do love this title, sorry) can also count on its captivating mystery to keep the tension growing.

But mostly, it’s about following Aspen while he’s busy being an asshole. No, really. Trust me on this. At first I thought, oh, hey, he reminds me of Cassel**, arrogant but sarcastic and I love his voice? Then he did something and I was all –

DON’T YOU DARE!!!

*Yell and throw my hands out in a frustrated fashion*

But then, his voice was still compelling? Sorry? Still, every time that *insert swearing terms* decision was mentioned I felt icky. I mentioned character growth, and yes, there is, but don’t go in there expecting that Aspen will become a nice guy at 20%. Or 50%, for that matter. I’m not even sure he is a nice guy in the end – but I’ll come back to that.

If I take a close look at his flaws, I genuinely can’t fathom how and why I was able to stand him. The guy pushed All. My. Buttons. Every time I thought that I would be able to get past some shitty decision he took, he had to go and – Ugh. Facepalm and swearing ensued.

Yet the thing is, his behavior was believable : it rang so, so true.

See, Aspen’s family has an original power : all of them are able to reach into someone – anyone – and steal a part of them for their own benefit : their sight, their ability to do Math, their sadness, their memories – you name it. Grade-A thieves, the bunch of them. Granted, the first purpose of their power is to prevent the cliff from Three Peaks, their town, to fall and well, kill everyone. But would they be humans if they didn’t use this amazing power in their everyday life? Of course they wouldn’t.

We love reading about magical characters who are so selfless and genuine and martyrs and nice and kind and… really? Who are we kidding? No matter how insufferable Aspen was, oh my gosh, that was so much more believable and – hate me for this but – so satisfying. A teenager, who grew up with the ability to (basically) manipulate people, ever since he was a toddler?! Of course he’s an arrogant asshole! It doesn’t mean that I love these parts of him, but they make sense, even if the guy is an hypocrite piece of shit.

Yet more and more along the way, we start getting the impression that something… isn’t quite right. Is Aspen genuinely clueless, delusional or a damn SOCIOPATH?

What? The guy can’t be bothered with empathy, or so it seems.

About that : (do not read before finishing the book) View Spoiler »

Most of all, I loved that Aspen’s character development was slow and incomplete, because no matter what romance novels tell us, a complete 360 in someone’s personality isn’t really a thing. Also, he really made me laugh. Oops.

The relative predictability – I guessed one major plot point early on – actually HELPED me to enjoy the book better, but that doesn’t mean that I saw everything coming : I did not. So many lies, really : the questions surrounding Aspen’s family made for the most unsettling mystery, keeping me eager to turn the pages, because I really, really needed to know if I was right. Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies was thoroughly engrossing and fascinating, albeit disturbing. As I said, though, it was certainly not an action-packed novel, and there were many random everyday life events pictured (including romance, but…). I couldn’t stop reading all the same.

The ending wasn’t wrapped in a neat bow but I thought that its honesty suited the book perfectly : Some readers can find it unsatisfying, but for me Lindsay Ribar couldn’t have taken a better decision.

Add a compelling writing, and you get an unputdownable book. A weird, but thought-provoking one, for which I developed a strange fondness.

*Yes, in the end, I cared about him anyway. Sigh.

**There were similarities with White Cat, by the way. They didn’t bother me, but they were here.

BOOK REVIEW: Ninth Key (The Mediator #2) by Meg Cabot

July 27, 2016 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

Ninth Key (The Mediator #2)
by Meg Cabot
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Ghosts ruin everything. Especially your love life.

Everything is going great for Suze. Her new life in California is a whirlwind of parties and excellent hair days. Tad Beaumont, the hottest boy in town, has even asked Suze out on her very first date. Suze is so excited that she's willing to ignore her misgivings about Tad... particularly the fact that he's not Jesse, whose ghostly status - not to mention apparent disinterest in her - make him unattainable.

What Suze can't ignore, however, is the ghost of a murdered woman whose death seems directly connected to dark secrets hidden in none other than Tad Beaumont's past.

“You can’t tell me you’ve liked being trapped in this room for a hundred and fifty years.”
“It hasn’t been all bad,” he said, with a smile. “Things have picked up recently.”

Okayyyy sooooo I wasn’t gong to write a review today, but it’s going to be a long weekend (WOOT! Bring it on 4th of July!) and I know I will finish at LEAST one book and will need to post about it Tuesday-So I’d rather not get backlogged. Plus-Any chance I get to boast about my Jesse and Suze addiction to get people aware of it again, I’m going to do it.

This is a series, I’m finding, that not only I liked, but many many of my friends did, too. Turns out? I wasn’t the only pre-teen laying in my bedroom binge-reading this series and pining about Jesse like I thought I was….no wonder she is so popular. Go figure. It’s so fun to talk to all you guys about how much we loved this and why it’s still great, so that’s why I feel the need to talk about each and every installment, no matter which are my favorite and which are just plain awesome (Pfft. They all are-even my least fav).

Jesse has those kind of eyes some guys have, the kind of sad eyes that make you think you might want to try and make them not so sad.

I must say that I enjoyed the first installment more than this one, but I remember that being the case years and years ago when I first picked these up. I loved Suze’s voice, again, and loved Jesse even more. But, as it is, I really wanted more Jesse. lol-I couldn’t quite pinpoint why this one wasn’t my favorite years ago, but now the BBF whore in me knows exactly why. There was plenty of Jesse, really, but OMG is it too much to ask for him to be on every page? Yes? Hmm. *pouts*

“Now that,” he said, putting his hands down, “was your finest performance yet. You seemed caring, yet disgusted.”
I glared at him. “Don’t you,” I asked, grumpily, “have some chains you’re supposed to be rattling somewhere?”

I actually found this one comical in the most subtle ways-the vampire aspect, the dumb jock Suze attempts to tolerate, the references to her monster-like poison ivy hands, the step-brother dynamic, and, frankly, Jesse’s humor. I loved this book just like I knew I would, but I love that I get the depth in which all the jokes are meant to be taken. Before, yeah I laughed as a kid, but I certainly didn’t realize just how wry the humor was-I mean, so refreshing. I even had forgotten about dear old Father Dominic-he and Suze’s banter and relationship is something I had long since forgotten and I am so happy it’s all coming back to me now-even stronger than before.

“A mediator is someone who helps others resolve conflicts. Not someone, who, er, kicks them in the face.”
I smiled at him. “I’ll keep that in mind,” I said.
And I would, too. Right after I kicked Red’s butt.
Whoever he was.

So, yeah. I could go on and on about how happy these books make me, but I know for a fact they get better and better and Jesse’s jealousy gets stronger and stronger….What’s not to fall for?? So, with that being said, I think I’m going to leave the review here and wish everyone a happy holiday weekend. I wanted to pick the third up over the weekend after my fantasy, but I got granted an AMAZING ARC I did not expect to get, so I will probably pick it up first. But if I’m being honest? I already miss these guys. I have NO clue what the hell I’m going to do when I am done with these all over again. Probably cry. Yeah. Sounds about right.

***********

Ahhh this series will NEVER get old. Never. What a refreshing reassurance. Jesse will literally never bore me….I guess that means I can re-read these yet again when I’m older. 😛

RTC!

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BOOK REVIEW: An Ember in the Ashes (An Ember in the Ashes #1) by Sabaa Tahir

July 26, 2016 / Chelsea / 3 Comments

Okay, so, this is me doing a re-read before I receive my A TORCH AGAINST THE NIGHT ARC in the mail...which, as you can imagine, I am SLOWLY DYING INSIDE BECAUSE I AM SO FREAKIN' EXCITED. I hope you all will take a look at the book that made my life complete last year, centering around my wounded and tortured soul, Elias-the soldier who never wanted to be a part of the cruel society he's stuck in.

BOOK REVIEW: An Ember in the Ashes (An Ember in the Ashes #1) by Sabaa Tahir

BOOK REVIEW: An Ember in the Ashes (An Ember in the Ashes #1) by Sabaa Tahir

An Ember in the Ashes (An Ember in the Ashes #1)
by Sabaa Tahir
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
I WILL TELL YOU THE SAME THING I TELL EVERY SLAVE.

THE RESISTANCE HAS TRIED TO PENETRATE THIS SCHOOL COUNTLESS TIMES. I HAVE DISCOVERED IT EVERY TIME.

IF YOU ARE WORKING WITH THE RESISTANCE, IF YOU CONTACT THEM, IF YOU THINK OF CONTACTING THEM, I WILL KNOW

AND I WILL DESTROY YOU.

Laia is a slave.
Elias is a soldier.
Neither is free.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.

But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.

There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

Duty first, unto death.

You can’t see me. I can’t see you. But let me just tell you what I’m doing. I’m silently screaming. I’m cursing myself for not reading this book sooner because I was nervous. I’m internally fangirling even though I finished this almost 24 hours ago. And most prominently? I am on my knees. I am bowing down to this author. And I am eternally fucking grateful for this absolute masterpiece. If I could, I’d give it a gazillion stars.

Life is made of so many moments that mean nothing. Then one day, a single moment comes along to define every second that comes after.

Epic. Thrilling. Brutal. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t sit still. This story was so gripping, so addicting, so mesmerizing that I was a prisoner held under it’s intoxicating spell. It hooked me with it’s razor sharp claws, bleeding me out like a stuck pig. It clawed all my sanity away until I was a raging lunatic…

And I didn’t want to be anywhere else but nuzzled up within these extremely deep and painfully appealing pages.

“Please,” I say. “It was a mistake.” She leans in close, her lips inches from mine, those dead eyes lit, for just a moment with terrifying fury. “Stupid girl,” she whispers. “Haven’t you learned? I don’t abide mistakes.”

This review won’t be long. It won’t be coherent. It will obviously be in short, abrupt sentences. Have you ever read a book that was just sooooo perfect that you felt inadequate as you tried to write your review? That’s me. I just…I can’t find the words. I’m so rarely speechless-my reviews border on crazy, because they are so long it feels as if it takes twenty minutes to read them and eternities to write them. But here, now, in this moment where I could put my crazy to good use…I’m coming up blank and I just Do. Not. Know. What. To. Say.

“You are an ember in the ashes, Elias Veturius. You will spark and burn, ravage and destroy. You cannot change it. You cannot stop it.”

I am determined, though, to at least say what was so utterly compelling about this story, to me. What made it shoot to an absolute favorite and kept my stomach perpetually churning. For once, the romance wasn’t what made the story for me. I loved it, yes, but it was so much more than that. It was about family and friendship, love and loss, war and betrayal…making decisions that no one at their age should have to. It touched deeply on the subjects no one dare go, yet the author made them so appealing that you couldn’t look away. There was beauty in it’s depravity, almost like a gorgeously woven spider web, crafted to capture and constrict it’s prey. Even now I am breathless as I reminisce about what happened and what all our main characters had to go through.

Death supplants everything. Friendship, love, loyalty. The good memories I have of these men-of helpless laughter, of bets won and pranks hatched-they are stolen away. All I can remember are the worst things, the darkest things.

And here we are, right at the core of the story where all the addiction comes into play: The characters. You name ‘em, I likely loved ‘em. From the villains to the main leads, I adored them all-but for very different reasons. It’s no secret that I admire the main male lead and his counterpart in almost every book-sue me, I like boys-and even as I was a fucking psycho fangirl for our beautiful Elias, I could actually, for once, see past just him.

Sometimes, I talk to those I’ve killed. In my head, I hear them whisper back-not accusations, but their hopes, their wants. I wish they would curse me instead. It’s worse, somehow, to hear all that would have been had I not killed them.

There was Helene, his best, most cherished friend. Dear God I loved her and their friendship. It struck a chord deep within me and I shipped them so hard. The tears, heartache, and struggle was real. I wouldn’t care if they ended up together-hey, it is what it is-she rocks (Even though I want him with Laia Lalalalala). There was Dex, there was Zak, there was Markus, Cook, Izzi, there were so many more that surrounded our leads and I never disliked any of them-They only added to the story, whereas normally I’m like ‘Shoo! Be gone!’ But not once did I feel this way. All of their turmoil and struggles gripped my heart like a vice, and I was captured in their snare.

Monster, murderer, devil. Dark, vile creature. I hate you. I hate you.

And I’m sorry, I just have to-Elias gave tormented and tortured a new name. He was the face of what it feels like to be unloved, cast aside, despised…with only his platoon and his best friend, Helene, beside him. His voice is very powerful, drawing you in immediately, curious to learn more about his story and what has driven him to such misery. I am not going to lie: There is a whole lot of fangirl being held back right now, and it’s really costing me something. But just know-He is perfect. He is loyal. He would do anything for the greater good even as he is facing the most disgusting trials known to man. He is good. He is kind. And he is stuck in a world where he feels he doesn’t belong-he is a leaf in the wind, and all he craves, what he’d sell his very life for, is freedom….freedom of body, mind, and soul. My heart aches for him even now. And I was an absolute mess as I went through each and every new phase with him….I don’t think I could breathe past chapter two when we first meet him.

I’ve never seen her before, because if I had, I’d remember. Despite the heavy silver cuffs and high, painful-looking bun that mark all of Blackcliff’s drudges, nothing about her says slave. Her black dress fits her like a glove, sliding over every curve in a way that makes more than one head turn. Her full lips and fine, straight nose would be the envy of most girls, Scholar or not. I stare at her, realize I’m staring, tell myself to stop staring, and then keep staring. My breath falters, and my body, traitor that it is, tugs me forward until there are only inches between us.

(I realize I broke the Suicide Squad theme, but come onnnn, how perfect is this??)

And boy oh boy, Elias and Laia are the epitome of Star Crossed Lovers. Whoops…did I reference my blog in comparison to the book? Yeah, well, this is why I read, people. This story, this beautifully constructed forbidden romance, it’s what my favorite books are made of. I will touch lightly on this and then I will move on: THERE IS NO LOVE TRIANGLE, SQUARE, PENTAGON-there is nothing. There is lust. There is attraction. There is curiosity and exploration…but nothing is stronger than a life long friendship forged from cruelty. The main story is about Laia and Elias, and it never once implies otherwise. I wanted to make that clear. And, on top of all that, this story doesn’t center around the romance…but leaves you gasping for more.

“I don’t know what happened to you,” I say. “I don’t know who my father was or why you hate him so much. But I know my death won’t free you. It won’t give you peace. View Spoiler » Because I’d rather die than become like you. I’d rather die than live with no mercy, no honor, no soul.”

Barbaric, depraved, devastating. Artfully crafted, deserving every bit of the hype, and almost understated in it’s severity. It made me crazy, it stole every bit of spare time I had even when I should have been doing something else, and it’s all I could think about when I wasn’t able to be reading it. I wish for more words to express my utter, undying love for this story, but they aren’t coming to me. I want to say more and I want to leave it as it is. Like I said, it’s making me crazy I can’t say more, but this is where it ends. I loved it. I devoured it. I needed it like oxygen, gulping it in deep, greedy breaths. I need book two….but now I wait. But, for once, it will be worth it. It’s totally worth the wait. Elias…..until we meet again, soldier.

***************************************

Buddy read with my favorite chicks ever: Anna, Harriet, and Jenny! ♥

We’re coming for you, book!

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BOOK REVIEW: The Ghost and the Goth (The Ghost and the Goth #1) by Stacey Kade

July 25, 2016 / Chelsea / 1 Comment

The Ghost and the Goth (The Ghost and the Goth #1)
by Stacey Kade
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Alona Dare–Senior in high school, co-captain of the cheerleading squad, Homecoming Queen three years in a row, voted most likely to marry a movie star… and newly dead.

I’m the girl you hated in high school. Is it my fault I was born with it all-good looks, silky blond hair, a hot body, and a keen sense of what everyone else should not be wearing? But my life isn’t perfect, especially since I died. Run over by a bus of band geeks—is there anything more humiliating? As it turns out, yes—watching your boyfriend and friends move on with life, only days after your funeral. And you wouldn’t believe what they’re saying about me now that they think I can’t hear them. To top it off, I’m starting to disappear, flickering in and out of existence. I don’t know where I go when I’m gone, but it’s not good. Where is that freaking white light already?

Will Killian–Senior in high school, outcast, dubbed “Will Kill” by the popular crowd for the unearthly aura around him, voted most likely to rob a bank…and a ghost-talker.

I can see, hear, and touch the dead. Unfortunately, they can also see, hear and touch me. Yeah, because surviving high school isn’t hard enough already. I’ve done my best to hide my “gift.” After all, my dad, who shared my ability, killed himself because of it when I was fifteen. But lately, pretending to be normal has gotten a lot harder. A new ghost—an anonymous, seething cloud of negative energy with the capacity to throw me around—is pursuing me with a vengeance. My mom, who knows nothing about what I can do, is worrying about the increase in odd incidents, my shrink is tossing around terms like “temporary confinement for psychiatric evaluation,” and my principal, who thinks I’m a disruption and a faker, is searching for every way possible to get rid of me. How many weeks until graduation?

There’s nothing better than a book that surprises you… in a good way. My story for this book is a long one, dating years back to when I added pretty much anything and everything to my ever-growing tbr pile. I was picky back then, too-Don’t be fooled. However, I didn’t quite know what I loved and how to decipher what made me tick, down to my deepest molecule.

So when I did my most recent delete spree for my tbr pile, this had to go. I mean, it had all the signs of books I try to stay away from: Fugly cover (I know, I know, shut up), hardly any friend’s ratings, no quotes that appealed to me (but I’ll change that in my review 😉 ), and just nothing to back it up and not enough ratings. But, after reading my beloved Mediator series again, I was in the mood for this book. And guess what?? I immediately added it back onto my tbr and bought it immediately. Best decision I’ve ever made (well…).

I pulled the Dodge over to the side of the road on Henderson, next to the tennis courts, flipped the hazard lights on, and waited. Alona hadn’t committed suicide, I knew that. The girl had enough arrogance and self-esteem to choke a horse. She had, however, died a violent and unnatural death, which probably meant she was still tied to the exact place of her death.

So, I guess since it’s so late, I need to get right to the book, don’t I? This story, while not wholly original (what story is these days, really), is done extremely well. That’s just my opinion, but I think I read enough books to have a little bit of room to say that. I know what I like, I know what I don’t, and I’m actually quite picky. This book, what with all its quirky humor and obvious disregard for what is now a social faux pas for our top reviewers today, stood above all cliches…by making itself into one.

I sighed. “Alona.”
“Good luck with class,” she said with faux cheer. “Hope you like musicals. I’ll make sure to tell them Annie is your favorite.”
“Wait, just wait a—”
Without another word, she slipped through the closed door, humming “Tomorrow” under her breath.
Great. Not only do I have an angry spirit guide, but an angry spirit guide with a vindictive streak and an unnatural knowledge of show tunes. Better and better already.

Now let me explain: Alona is your typical stereotypical bitchy cheerleader. So overdone, yeah? Well…that’s all in who you ask. Me? I can appreciate a fun, over-the-top, cliched-and even cheesy-book if done correctly. Do you know how many times I desperately wish for more books like this that aren’t trashed with horrid grammar, misspelling, and nasty characters you just can’t root for? It’s just unheard of these days, and I find it so comical that I turned my nose up to this one because, frankly, it was actually quite adorable.

“Good. I’m not goth.”
“Your hair is black, you have piercings, you wear black all the time and act all freaky—”
“My hair is naturally this color. I have three earrings in one ear, that’s it. This shirt”—I tugged at the fabric across my chest—“ is navy blue, and if I act weird all the time, it’s because of ghosts like you.”

And that’s the thing-it’s all in your personality. For one, Will wasn’t even a goth. I mean…perhaps he dresses a little dark, but he’s hardly Emo. And his personality, another shocking factor, actually had me swooning from his first POV. He was actually…butterfly inducing from the moment I was in his head. Yikes. Shocked Chelsea. Chelsea is shocked.

“Are you staying … or just passing through?” I asked through gritted teeth.
“Why? Does it matter to you?”
A thousand smart-ass replies leaped to mind, but she would be expecting that. So, I went for the truth. “Yeah, it does.”
Her eyes widened and the faintest hint of pink spread across her face. I grinned. Had I just embarrassed Alona Dare, the Alona Dare?

So back to my original point (man I can get off topic like no-one’s business)-typical cheerleader. Judgmental. Rude. On a pedestal…but she was meant to be this way, therefore making her wholly likable (and don’t forget what I said: Don’t ever judge a book by its cover….)-She had me laughing out loud from chapter one on. Nothing felt overdone, nothing felt cheesy-it was all perfectly balanced and, frankly, had the sweetest message.

But, hey, this obviously wasn’t without its flaws or I’d have given five, right? I think a lot of my problem stemmed from how fucking tired I was. Endless tiredness. Endless running. Go Chelsea run Chelsea find Chelsea clean Chelsea-Go go go. So, yeah, putting this down every 10% really pissed me off, if I’m being honest. When you pick up a book fifty times in 100 different moods, it tends to effect a book.

And yes, while not wholly cheesy, it did have its more exaggerated moments-like his therapist-puh-lease. And Joonie-bleh. Also, I guess I wanted a little….more? But, candidly speaking, that’s really all that bothered me. *shrugs* I just loved it so much.

“You don’t have to follow her,” I said. “It’s Friday. I know exactly where she’s going after school.” No way would Joonie miss a visit to Lily, not after what she’d told me today.
“So are we going, too, or what?” Alona idly flicked a piece of … ghost lint? … off her shorts.

Refreshing, sweet, lots of banter between Will and Alona, and a story that actually fuels itself without reaching, I fell in love within moments. Will was a beautifully tortured boy that I totally didn’t expect and Alona had a hidden life that no one could possibly see behind the veneer….just like she wanted. A story constructed of not only laughter and wise-ass remarks, but learning what it means to be a kinder person-even if she isn’t with her kind anymore and even if she struggles with it up until the very end (perhaps more…). A book filled with muddled social tiers such as jocks and mean girls and cheating bfs, cliched to the max merely to make us laugh….and it surely succeeded. Whether this book is for you or not, I really don’t know. But when life got just a little too tough around here, I turned to what makes me happy, and that’s apparently a ghostly significant other, happy to haunt (and annoy) the one they love just because they can (a la Mediator :P).

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Well, color me surprised. This book was not at all what I perceived it to be, once again proving that you can’t simply judge a book by its [horribly cheesy] cover. Cute, funny, witty, sarcastic, well-written, and not at all what I thought it would be like, I fell in love almost immediately with Alona’s snarky attitude and Will’s desperation to not see those who haven’t went to their final resting place.

I still can’t believe I loved this book as much as I did. Even more surprising is that I can’t wait to read the second installment. For those of you judging this book by its cover…don’t. It’s way better than you would ever think-Even with it’s stereotypical nature and play on the social tiers of High School (Though, I think this was done on purpose for comical intents and purposes) (which I loved, btw).

But, for those of you who need more convincing…..

RTC

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