Post Reading: The Word for Yes - Claire Needell

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: The Word for Yes

Author: Claire Needell

Published: 16 February 2016 by HarperTeen

Source: ARC from Publisher

Add it on Goodreads

At once honest and touching, Claire Needell's debut novel is a moving look at date rape and its aftermath, at the love and conflicts among sisters and friends, and how these relationships can hold us together—and tear us apart.

The gap between the Russell sisters—Jan, Erika, and Melanie—widens as each day passes. Then, at a party full of blurred lines and blurred memories, everything changes. Starting that night, where there should be words, there is only angry, scared silence.

And in the aftermath, Jan, Erika, and Melanie will have to work hard to reconnect and help one another heal.

THE REVIEW

The Word for Yes falls short for me because of multiple reasons - An anti-climatic ending, poor character development, lack of depth and a somewhat stilted writing style. The book itself felt like a emotionless narration of a series of events with no sense of direction.

She Shoots, She Scores?

Author: Kasie West
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: July 1st 2014
Source: Publisher
Synopsis:

She's a tomboy. He's the boy next door…

Charlie Reynolds can outrun, outscore, and outwit every boy she knows. But when it comes to being a girl, Charlie doesn't know the first thing about anything. So when she starts working at a chichi boutique to pay off a speeding ticket, she finds herself in a strange new world. To cope with the stress of her new reality, Charlie takes to spending nights chatting with her neighbor Braden through the fence between their yards. As she grows to depend on their nightly Fence Chats, she realizes she's got a bigger problem than speeding tickets-she's falling for Braden. She knows what it means to go for the win, but if spilling her secret means losing him for good, the stakes just got too high.

Fun, original, and endearing, On the Fence is a romantic comedy about finding yourself and finding love where you least expect.

Review: On the Fence - Kasie West 

Kasie West's books has always been a sure win for me. Her dystopian debut, Pivot Point captivated me with it's time travel angle. When she followed it up with The Distance Between Us, another smashing success West became one of my auto-buy authors.

When it was revealed that she was releasing another contemporary this year Kasie West cult (including moi) went like Hallelujah. Tomboy falling in love with boy next door?? GIMME. The pre-release reviews were promising so I was definitely hyped up for the book.

I thought that I could count on West for a contemporary novel that would make the reader swoon, giggle and re-think. In short, I expected a mind blowing, coming of age read that I could would add value to the genre. And yes, majority of the readers thought that the novel succeeded in this aspect. Unfortunately, I'm with the minority saying nuh uh.

Revered Twins, Thunder Hawks and Treachery

Author: Kelley Armstrong 

Series: Age of Legends #1

Publisher: HarperCollins

Release Date: 8 April 2014

Source: Publisher

Synopsis:

In the Forest of the Dead, where the empire’s worst criminals are exiled, twin sisters Moria and Ashyn are charged with a dangerous task. For they are the Keeper and the Seeker, and each year they must quiet the enraged souls of the damned.

Only this year, the souls will not be quieted.

Ambushed and separated by an ancient evil, the sisters’ journey to find each other sends them far from the only home they’ve ever known. Accompanied by a stubborn imperial guard and a dashing condemned thief, the girls cross a once-empty wasteland, now filled with reawakened monsters of legend, as they travel to warn the emperor. But a terrible secret awaits them at court—one that will alter the balance of their world forever

Review: The Sea of Shadows - Kelley Armstrong

Kelley Armstrong is an author whose books I read and loved so I was definitely excited for The Sea of Shadows. But when the pre-release reviews started coming in I have to admit that I was a little apprehensive. But once I started this YA fantasy novel there was no doubt that Armstrong still has "it". 

The elements of suspense, mythology, action and romance make The Sea of Shadows one hell of a page turner. The novel opens in the village of Edgewood, home to Ashyn and Moira. The twin sisters play the role of the Seeker and Keeper who protect the village from the Forest of the Dead. The sisters and their animal companions are revered because of the role they play in protecting Edgewood.

Review: Faking Normal - Courtney C. Stevens

Author: Courtney C. Stevens 

Publisher: HarperTeen

Published Date: February 25th 2014 

Source: ARC Courtesy of The Publisher

Synopsis:

Alexi Littrell hasn't told anyone what happened to her over the summer. Ashamed and embarrassed, she hides in her closet and compulsively scratches the back of her neck, trying to make the outside hurt more than the inside does.

When Bodee Lennox, the quiet and awkward boy next door, comes to live with the Littrells, Alexi discovers an unlikely friend in "the Kool-Aid Kid," who has secrets of his own. As they lean on each other for support, Alexi gives him the strength to deal with his past, and Bodee helps her find the courage to finally face the truth.

A searing, poignant book, Faking Normal is the extraordinary debut novel from an exciting new author-Courtney C. Stevens.

My Thoughts

Every once in a while we come across a book that is mind-blowing-good and you love it so much that you can’t stop thinking about and can’t even talk about it for fear of incoherent rambling. 

Well, Faking Normal was this kinda book.

Review : The Chaos of Stars - Kiersten White

Author: Kiersten White
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: Sep 10th 2013
Source: Publisher
Synopsis:

Kiersten White, New York Times bestselling author of Paranormalcy, is back with The Chaos of Stars—an enchanting novel set in Egypt and San Diego that captures the magic of first love and the eternally complicated truth about family.

Isadora's family is seriously screwed up—which comes with the territory when you're the human daughter of the ancient Egyptian gods Isis and Osiris. Isadora is tired of living with crazy relatives who think she's only worthy of a passing glance—so when she gets the chance to move to California with her brother, she jumps on it. But her new life comes with plenty of its own dramatic—and dangerous—complications . . . and Isadora quickly learns there's no such thing as a clean break from family.

Blending Ally Carter's humor and the romance of Cynthia Hand's Unearthly, The Chaos of Stars takes readers on an unforgettable journey halfway across the world and back, and proves there's no place like home.

Pre-Reading Thoughts:

When the synopsis went up on Goodreads, my thoughts went something like this:

Kiersten White's Writing + Egyptian Gods + Screwed Up Family Dynamics = Nothing But Pure Awesome-ness.

And when HarperTeen revealed the cover, I saw stars(no pun intended). Excited doesn't quite cover how I felt about The Chaos of Stars. 
I may or may not have camped in front of my home when I was told that the book was on the way to me. 

Post-Reading Thoughts:

When I first started reading reviews of The Chaos of Stars I wondered why a lot of readers either considered it a 'meh' read or DNF-ed it. The reason became clearer once I actually started reading it. 

The Chaos of Stars was sure as hell not what I expected. The blurb promises a mythological read(or maybe I interpreted it that way?). But it came across as a Magical Realism read with slight mythological elements. For me, this was not such a bad thing in fact this very fact made The Chaos of Stars a surprising and refreshing read.