A Map for Wrecked Girls by Jessica Taylor

Henri and Emma are sisters and have always been close, dreaming of a future by themselves in a beachside house with cats. Henri's behavior becomes more and more erratic with excessive drinking at parties. Emma is pretty straight edge, but becomes enraged when Henri seduces Emma's crush and strings him along, clearly planning to drop him soon. Emma acts rashly and simultaneously obliterates her relationship with Henri. Then, they get stranded on a deserted island with a boy named Alex. How long will they stay there? How will they survive? Will Henri let her anger win out over survival?

A Map for Wrecked Girls is a bit of a frustrating read overall. It sounds out fine with establishing Henri and Emma's relationship. Henri has always been the leader while Emma has always followed faithfully. Now that Henri seems to be spiralling out of control with risky behavior, Emma starts to be more assertive. She does something that is portrayed as unforgiveably horrible which really isn't. It's motivated by jealousy and anger, but it wasn't the wrong thing to do. The novel is told starting with the island and then going back in time to show what happened with all of this. It served to hold the audience in suspense as to what happened, but other aspects of the novel made this not work for me.

Henri and Emma are stranded on a desert island with a boy named Alex. From page 1, Henri holds on to her grudge like it's a flotation device. Even the death of Alex's cousin and the explosion of their boat didn't distract her from making Emma (and by extension Alex) as miserable as possible. I hated Henri for most of the novel because she kept valuable information that would lead to an easier life on the island and even sabotaged attempts to leave. It's incredibly and unforgiveably petty to keep up this act when their lives are in danger. Henri's personality and actions grew stale fast and she doesn't change all that much. Emma changes a little, but still lets Henri have so much power over her. The whole situation was frustrating to read and I wanted Henri to suffer from the consequences of her idiotic behavior.

I didn't enjoy A Map for Wrecked Girls. The toxic sister relationship had Henri being mean and dangerous all the time while Emma continually gave excuse after excuse to dismiss the behavior.  The only thing that kept me reading was Emma's huge faux pas and it didn't deserve the weight it was given. It took me over a week to read this even though it should have taken me a couple of days because I hated Henri that much. This was supposed to be an uplifting story of sisterly love, but it falls very short of that. I understand having a rough relationship with a sister, but there comes a time when you need to say enough of their bad behavior and abuse. Not recommended.

My rating: 2/5 fishmuffins

A Line in the Dark by Malinda Lo

Jess Wong and Angie Redmond are best friends, but Jess wants more from their relationship. Afraid of ruining their friendship, Jess hasn't said anything. Then Angie meets someone, a girl named Margot who steals from the cafe Angie works at while flirting with her. The situation instantly makes Jess hate Margot and creates a rift between best friends when Angie starts to date Margot. As Angie is drawn more and more into Margot's circle, Margot's best friend Ryan disappears and no one seems to know what happened.

A Line in the Dark is a dark contemporary teen novel that accurately shows the growing pains of friendship and the pain of unrequited love. Jess isn't the nicest person, but being inside her head feels authentic. She's not idealized or perfect and it's nice to see an accurate depiction of someone's inner thoughts and feelings. Jess loves Angie, but either doesn't want to ruin their friendship or is too afraid of rejection to reveal her feelings. As with any friendship that has one of the members finding first love, the relationship becomes strained when Margot and Angie date in addition to the gnawing jealousy Jess feels. Margot starts to keep secrets, dresses differently, wears more makeup, and starts to adopt Margot's mean girl tendencies. Jess starts to dig into Margot and Ryan's secrets to discredit them and get Margot back. She does turn into a bit of a stalker, following Margot and Angie around. My favorite part of Jess is her art. She draws in an anime style and has a fully realized world with ciphers for herself, Margot, and Angie to work out her feelings. It also led to some interesting revelations within her art that had a large impact on the story.

The lesbian characters are all varied and not portrayed as all evil or all good, but some sort of shade of grey in between. Angie at first seems like a genuine person, but she turns out to be extremely manipulative and pitting Jess against Margot to get what she wants. At first, we see her through Jess and her crush, so she is shown idealized, perfect in every way. Margot is a bit of a mean girl even when the Jess hate filter is taken away. She and Ryan seem to spread rumors about people and destroy their reputations for crossing them. Ryan has a secret affair with a teacher, exposed by the letter they leave for each other in the woods. I really hated how this abusive relationship was shown as totally fine and understandable. Maybe it's because it was from the point of view of high school students who see themselves as more adult, but it's not great to tell your target audience that affairs with teachers are ok.

The mystery with Ryan's disappearance makes the book take a turn. Suddenly, there are gaps in Jess's narrative and we don't know what actually happened the night of a party when Jess finds and picks up a gun and fights with Ryan. The interviews with the police are shown in transcription form and the stories Angie, Jess, and Margot tell are weirdly and similarly cagey. They all also don't seem affected at all by Ryan's disappearance when it hits rather close to home. While the mystery was interesting, the story didn't have much tension leading up to the reveal. The twists are laid out rather casually and the ending has a bizarre change from first person narration from Jess's point of view to third person omniscient. It was jarring, unnecessary, and distracted from the story. The reveal makes sense and blew my mind a little bit. It was unexpected and not at all satisfying.

A Line in the Dark shows a toxic lesbian love triangle going to extremes. While I liked the overall story, I felt that more tension could have been built. Classifying it as a thriller makes it seem like there is something missing. Maybe it was purposeful to show something about Jess, but there were quite a few runon sentences that just annoyed me. I read the book over the course of two day. I was enthralled and the pace is quick. However, the move from first to theird person felt super awkward and the reveal made me so angry. I enjoyed most of the book and I appreciate it, but I wouldn't revisit it.

My rating: 3/5 fishmuffins

Waste of Space by Gina Damico

A reality TV production company has the crazy idea to have a reality show in space with a bunch of teenagers. Of course, it's impossible to actual launch teens into space, so they hire NASAW (not NASA) and a special effects company to make the illusion complete. Ideally, the teens and all of America will believe the show is in space. Teens are interviewed, kidnapped, and sent to their "shuttle." In the meantime, others have their own interests in mind that threaten the success of the show and the lives of its stars.

Waste of Space shows the extremes of reality television. The producer and host Chazz Young is rich and connected. He says whatever is on his mind no matter how weird and makes it happen. Even when his ideas are crazy or expensive or hard to accomplish, he simply yells at people until they comply. He captures the demanding and uncaring nature of the stereotypical Hollywood businessman. The teens he chooses for his TV shows are based on stereotypes like the party girl, the overachiever, the hick, the artist, etc. Chazz cares nothing for their wellbeing and only wants to pull their strings to get ratings.

Each episode took a crazy amount of hours and stuffed into around 45 minutes of TV. I loved reading about the boring stuff where they just sat around, too awkward to talk to each other. The episodes are shown in transcripts of the dialogue and actions with indications on the side when the events are being broadcasted. Once things really go crazy, nothing is broadcasted or recorded and their entire setup goes missing. What follows is a zany chase around the desert as some escape, some stay trapped, and Chazz frantically tries to find his multimillion dollar show.

The brunt of the novel seems to show how relegating real people to paper thin stereotypes isn't realistic. The party girl turns out to have a lot more skill and intelligence, opting for that facade to guarantee a spot on the show. The only one who doesn't really break out of that is Louise who thinks they are in space (when everyone else figured out they weren't) and thought for sure her fictional sci-fi crush would come save her. The delusion was too complete and unshakeable. 

Waste of Space has an interesting concept and way of storytelling. The characters stood out and had their own unique interests. It's a pretty fast read and has some real suspense in revealing what's actually happening on the set of this show. My only problem is that a lot of the situations and characters still come off as cartoonish archetypes despite the message to the opposite. This book is a fun read, but not one I would revisit.

My rating: 3.5/5 fishmuffins

The Arsonist by Stephanie Oakes

Molly Mavity has a hard life for a teenage girl. Her father is about to be executed for burning people to death, her mother died a few years ago, and everyone at her high school hates her. Pepper Yusef is doing a bit better than her, but he's just found out that he won't be graduating high school. His last chance is to write extensive papers in all his failing subjects to graduate. He also has a seizure disorder, a useless service animal for said disorder, and major reputation problems centering around his crush Petra. When Molly crashes into his life and insists he has answers, Pepper thinks she's crazy, but she draws him into an international mystery that involves Ava Dreyman, the Anne Frank of the Cold War.

The Arsonist is a twisty, light hearted mystery told through three perspectives: Molly, Pepper, and Ava. Molly is convinced that her mother, who killed herself ago, isn't dead and is sending her clandestine messages. These messages lead her directly to Pepper, who doesn't conciously know anything about her situation at all. Pepper is kind of stumbling through life. His crush pretty much used him to get into a prestigious school through an embarassing interview that exploited his background as an immigrant from Kuwait and his dream to become the president of the United States. Molly and Pepper are both on their way to being alone and alienating everyone around them until they join forces and work together. Ava's narrative is her diar published in book form, detailing her experience from her mother and her friends murdering GDR officials and police to her death as a young adult.

This book deals with a lot of dark subjects such as murder, oppression, and death. However, it always has this quirky, comedic tone that makes everything have a lighthearted feel. I think things like living in the GDR under threat of death for being revolutionaries and Molly's dad killing numerous people in a fire should be looked at a little more seriously. There are also a number of bizarre incidences that seem a bit out of place and weird like Molly drinking 30 small milk containers and peeing herself in class when the teacher wouldn't let her go to the bathroom or when Papper takes ipecac to avoid graduation and then acts like he's fine later. Some of this could be edited out to make a more streamlined book. The actual mystery is pretty convoluted in and of itself, so this stuff feels like time wasted.

The Arsonist is a bit of a mixed bag. I really liked the journey, but I wouldn't reread this book. I really liked that everything is somehow connected in the novel. Even through every bizarre development, the plot is moving towards revelations and unconvering a mystery. It's practically impossible to guess what it is, but the journey is fun nonetheless. I did want to know if Pepper actually passed high school with his essays as they were written in the book. Even though it takes a very healthy dose of suspended disbelief, the story is a fun, weird mystery that takes our odd heroes out of their comfort zones.

My rating: 3.5/5 fishmuffins

City of Saints and Thieves by Natalie C. Anderson

Tina doesn't really exist. She lives on the streets of Sangui City after her mother was murdered while her sister lives at a Catholic school on a scholarship. Every one of her actions is motivated by vengeance. After joining with a gang, she learned how to steal undetected and how to survive in her precarious situation. When she's stealing information to start her revenge, Tina is unexpectedly caught by a childhood friend. She's forced to make a deal with him to confirm the identity of her mother's killer without a doubt. This triggers a series events that reveals the truth about their past and makes her realize she didn't know her mother as well as she thought.

City of Saints and Thieves is a thriller with twists and turns, well drawn characters, and a meaningful journey. Tina is instantly relatable. She puts her sister above everything, making sure she has what she needs and safety. Reading her rules and the way she keeps herself safe on the streets is an amped up version of what women do every day to escape negative attention or worse. Tina is an even more disadvantaged position as a thief who operates within an entirely male gang and chooses to live by herself in order to protect herself. All of her decisions are understandable and I was on her side the entire way. She stayed with her plan even when faced with an childhood friend/crush who could potentially be hurt by releasing information on her mother's murderer. Tina's mind is always looking for the best way to tackle a situation. She never lets anyone have all the information and constantly makes secret plans to keep moving forward.

My favorite part of this story is when Tina goes back to her Congolese hometown to find out what exactly happened there. She has few memories, but her mother had a best friend and a whole life Tina never knew about. This exposes both parts of the Congo: the people and nature in comparison with the expoitative aspects. The people are incredibly resilient and brave, trying to do what they can to help the people and make the place better in an understaffed and underfunded hospital. The landscape is absolutely gorgeous and a stark contrast to the atrocities committed on it. The brutality of war is shown as well as the resulting violence, injury (both mental and physical), and death. All parts of this place are shown just as Tina finds out wonderful and awful things about her mother that were kept from her. Knowing what her mother experienced and how she survived put things into perspective for Tina.

City of Saints and Thieves is an exciting thriller that I could never predict. The only thing I found lacking was in Michael, Tina's childhood friend. I found him nosy, presumptuous, and too willing to underestimate her. However, their romance was relegated to the background and didn't take over the major story. I really liked Tina, her determination, and her story. At its core, this book is about a girl trying to understand her roots and herself.

My rating: 4/5 fishmuffins

Aftermath by Kelley Armstrong

Skye Gilchrist and Jesse Mandal were best friends in freshman year of high school and on their way to becoming a couple. Then, a tragedy interrupts their lives in the form of a school shooting. Skye's brother Luka was caught with a gun and shot before he killed anyone. Jesse's brother Jamil was shot and killed. In the three years afterward, Skye moved from place to place, trying to unsuccessfully escape the blame and torment until she returned to her home and the school where the shooting happened. Once she's there, Jesse treats her terribly and someone is playing pranks on her that become more dangerous as they go on. Will their friendship ever be the same and who is tormenting Skye?

Aftermath is an obviously titled book about the aftermath of a school shooting. Skye and Jesse's lives are both very effected by this event. Skye is much more introverted and scared to interact with people. She hasn't been able to call anywhere home for very long because of the harassment. People assume she knew something or did something terrible because her brother was one of the shooters. Skye only has happy memories of Luka, his wonderful art, and his caring nature. Jesse, on the other hand, became a track star to fill his brother's shoes and give his parents some joy in their lives. His academics suffered even though he was great at them before and he takes steroids to stay good at the sport. His school attendance is extremely spotty, but overlooked because he's a successful athlete. He has nothing but awful memories of Jamil, his abuse, and his cruel nature.

Skye and Jesse reconnect after some rough interactions and misunderstandings and work together to find out who the harasser is. Their relationship is sweet. They acknowledge the changes in each other and move on from there. I felt the harassment plotline took away from the greater story. Dealing with the aftermath of this horrific event is enough and adding a mystery plot seems a little cheap. I also felt some characters could have been dealt with better. Jamil seems like a jerk, but his brother would still mourn him. Jesse seems very callous towards his brother and doesn't seem to care a lot for him. I felt it would be more realistic if Jesse was torn and mourned him, but was still affected by those bad memories and Jamil's awful behavior. The principal is an idiot and would never work in a school. He would be sued so fast it's ridiculous because he keeps denying the harassment and escalating incidences and blaming Skye for them. If he were more calculating or nuanced, he could have been a  more effective character.

Aftermath could have been a hard hitting book about school shootings, but it gets too caught up in unnecessary mystery and one dimensional characters. The relationship featured is sweet and built organically over time. Other than that, the only really good, nuanced thing is Skye's feelings toward her brother and trying to reconcile him with what he did. If you're going to write a book about a school shooting, which is very topical as it keeps happenning over and over, it should be about the shooting itself and the real aftermath, not some manufactured whodunit.

My rating: 2.5/5 fishmuffins

Book Mini-Reviews: A Good Idea and A Poison Dark and Drowning

* A Good Idea

Finley moved away from her best friend Betty in a small town in Maine to go to college in Manhattan, but their friendship stayed intact. They called, texted, and visited during the summer to keep ties. Then Betty goes missing, presumed by most to have committed suicide. Her ex-boyfriend Calder admitted to drowning her, but the confession is thrown out as coercion. Finley returns to the sleepy town to figure out what exactly happened to her friend.

A Good Idea addresses a lot of issues with teenage girls, friendships, misogyny, and the privilege of the rich. First, the town dismisses Betty's possible murder because she was promiscuous and exhibited erratic behavior beforehand as if it absolves anyone else of wrongdoing. The general attitude is that she brought it on herself or they just want to forget anything bad happened. Betty is a complex, flawed character who is not always likeable. She is dramatic with a vintage style and a bold aspiring actress. Finley remembers the irksome parts of her in addition to the parts she loved. Finley makes a huge amount of mistakes on the journey to solve her friend's disappearance/probable murder. Rash decisions include setting fires and slashing tires, but it still serves to remind the town that something happened and no one is doing anything about it.

On the opposing side, Calder is the hotheaded son of the mayor who always gets his way. After Betty cheated on him, he made sure she would never act in high school no matter how good she was, cutting off the one thing that made her happy. Despite all of his privilege, he still acted like a victim and had the support of the community, both enraging things. Another creepy guy is Owen, much older than the teens but that doesn't stop him from having sex with them. I don't know if I'm supposed to like him, but he very much needs to leave these kids alone. I prefered Serena, Finley's kind of girlfriend. I also appreciated the portrayal of bisexuality that's rare to see. The writing was serviceable, but I wouldn't read the book again. The revelations lose their edge once you already know what it is.

My rating: 3/5 fishmuffins

* A Poison Dark and Drowning

Although she knows she isn't the chosen one, Henrietta must play the role so that others won't despair and to save her best friend Rook, who would be turned away as his dark powers keep growing. Rhlem starts a campaign of horror and blood with the promise it will stop if Henrietta is turned over to him. Now that the shield is no longer active, the sorcerers are fighting a losing battle to save England and its surrouding countries from the threat of Rhlem and his cadre of giant monster and minions.

I didn't like A Shadow Bright and Burning very much, but I decided to give the sequel a try. I found many of the same problems with it. While the monster are horrific and impressive, the horror is always pulled back to make it more palatable. Some of the other ones are seen in more detail like Nemneris, who makes underwater webs and ensnares ships to eat sailors. Rhlem leaves notes to turn over Henrietta, but it comes off as super cheesy and juvenile. If he can meet people in their dreams, why not do that instead? Much more creepy and effective instead of Wicked Witch of the West-like. In terms of world building, the fae world still seems tacked on and at odds with the rest of the mythology instead of an intrinsic part of the world.

Henrietta and Blackwood are so much worse in this installment. She never listens to anyone and twists everything to get her way. Blackwood is as vindictive, childish, uptight, and misogynistic as ever. I don't even know why he's there to be honest except to annoy everyone. There's not much to root for here except Henrietta's new witch friend Maria who I would have loved to see last book. As interesting as she is, she's relegated to the background and just seems like Merida from Brave. Rook's situation plays out incredibly predictably and I have no sympathy for Henrietta at all.

More is discovered about the origins of the monsters, but it's accompanied by lazy deus ex machina type weapons to fight them. There's a random revelation about Rhlem that made me roll my eyes. It wasn't even unique in any way. I always have hope for this series' potential and it always disappoints me. I most likely won't read the next installment.

My rating: 1.5/5 fishmuffins

Book Mini-Reviews: Poison's Kiss and Optimists Die First

* Poison's Kiss

Marinda wasn't expected to survive as a baby as she was bitten by snakes in order to become the visha kanya or poison maiden. After many painful and horrific treatments, she can be ordered by the Raja to kill anyone anywhere. Marinda hates it and only copes by repeating to herself that these are enemies of the state and people she doesn't know while she keeps her sickly brother healthy. She's finally ordered to kill someone she knows and likes, which causes her to question much of what she's been told, unravelling their secrets.

Poison's Kiss is an interesting fantasy that infuses Indian folklore into the story. Marinda is a sympathetic character who would do anything for her sickly brother Mani, who she cares for like a mother. Her handlers threaten him constantly to make her comply. Other than that, I had nothing but problems with her character. I found it a little unbelievable that she never asked questions about anything until now, but I guess curiosity was taken from her through such an abusive, extreme childhood. Unfortunately, her reaction to almost everything is sitting and crying about it at length. I liked that the books went into much darker places than I expected with assassinations and living gods.

However, it was balanced by Marinda's flatly good outlook on everything and apparently her inability to figure out anything at all. I wanted inner conflict and an antihero, but she had very little agency throughout the book, just going with the flow. Another problem was Marinda's role in the assassinations. Even though she had to kiss to kill, she never really seduced anyone maybe to keep her "pure" in a totally outdated, backwards way. Ilya is the girl who seduces for information (which is an arrangement that doesn't really make sense) and Marinda views her as more terrible for some reason. Marinda was the only part I really had a problem with, but she's the main character, so I don't feel enthused to read the next book.

My rating: 2/5 fishmuffins

* Optimists Die First

Petula De Wilde is terrified of accidents. Anything could happen. Freak accidents occur everyday, so she will minimize her risk as much as possible no matter how much people tease her. Her family is torn apart and unrecognizeable since her little sister died due to a freak accident that she blames herself for. After counselling at school failed disastrously, she has to go to art therapy led by a woman who would rather work with elementary age kids. Then a very tall boy walks in with a prosthetic arm named Jacob and her whole life changes.

While I don't like the cliche a boy changes a girl's life thing, Optimists Die First is adept at dealing with grief, anxiety, and making amends. I've heard some criticism about the portrayal of Petula's anxiety, but it is dismissed as trivial by other people. To Petula, it's very real and very serious that she do everything she can to avoid fatal accidents. She has pushed everyone in her life away and opted to wallow in guilt and sorrow while her family reals from the loss and copes in their own ways. Her mother collects needy cats to take care of and her father throws himself into work. No one acknowledges each other's pain, too busy feeling their own. When Jacob walks in, they are forced to work together and both hate it at first. Their romance is sweet and develops organically over time. Birth control is acknowledged and used which is rare. The one mar on it is that Jacob doesn't really share about himself, opting to give fake names and movie plots instead of what really happened to him.

The art therapy is my favorite part of the whole book. At first, everyone is miserable and just going through the motions. This Breakfast Club-esque group of misfits all have their own trauma to deal with. Jacob's filmmaking talent gives each of them the tool to communicate something in a way they never thought of before. Koula apologizes for all the thoughtless, mean things she did when she was drunk or high. Alonzo expresses his journey and pain through mime. Ivan gets to hold a funeral for his mother when he was barred from the original one. Petula made a video archiving her family's life and Maxine's life. When Jacob's secret comes out, everyone is hurt. The ending has everyone on the road to rebuilding and reconciling, but it's not perfect. Petula still has some doubts as one would after being lied to. It's the most realistic representation of a teen relationship I've seen. This book has real emotions and shows different ways of coping with grief and trauma. Optimists Die First is a short, heart punch of a read that I enjoyed.

My rating: 4/5 fishmuffins

Places No One Knows

Waverly Camdenmar is the perfect girl on the surface. She gets the best grades, hangs out with the most popular people, and excels at track. Others view her as unflappable and icy. Inside, she is just as insecure as anyone else plus has thoughts that are offputting to others. Marshall Holt is her complete opposite. He's checked out of school. When he bothers to show up, he sleeps in class or just daydreams. On the weekends, he's busy drinking to oblivion, smoking cigarettes and pot, and maybe some other drugs. Everyone views him as a white trash loser, but he's quite empathetic and smart. His home life is difficult and he's just trying to cope. They never really interacted before until Waverly is trying to sleep using meditation techniques and a candle. She appears near him in her dreams night after night. No one else can see her but Marshall. She can be herself and free with Marshall, but her days are the same. Her emotional turmoil intensifies. She's torn between embracing her real self and continuing to pretend for others in the day.

I usually don't like to read contemporary teen novels unless they are thought to be exceptional because I just don't care about random teen drama. Add fantasy, horror, or science fiction and the romance aspect can be one part of a whole work, not the main event. However, Brenna Yovanoff is one of my favorite teen authors. Her previous books are all exceptional and she's not afraid to delve deep into darkness. So, I decided to read Places No One Knows and I wasn't disappointed at all. All of the characters are well written and engaging. The plot has just a little bit of fantasy and a lot of realistic darkness. It's different in tone and execution from her other books, but it's similar to them beneath all the trappings at its core.

The characters feel real. Waverly desperately wants to survive high school. In middle school, she repelled people with her scientific curiosity and matter of fact delivery. Others thought her a weird robotic person who talked way too much about the process of decay and other unsavory topics. her best friend Maribeth taught her how to seem more normal by using her iciness to her advantage to seem impervious and by keeping her odd interests and weird thoughts inside. She's so used to hiding herself, but the effects are seriously detrimental to her now. She can't sleep at night and opts to run to feel freedom so often and hard that she seriously hurts herself. When she visits Marshall in her dreams, Waverly can just be herself in this place out of time, away from the judgment of society. Another outlet for her real self (but in the real world) is Autumn, a brutally honest girl who just wants to be Waverly's friend. Waverly hasn't encountered this type of person before. She's so used to the passive aggression and subterfuge of the top of the societal foodchain that honesty is strange, but eventually refreshing. I felt for Waverly because she has long been conditioned that her natural state is distasteful and she felt she had to change to be accepted. Now, she's angry that the version that people accept isn't even her. It's an interesting dilemma that many can relate to: be yourself and risk being vulnerable and hurt or be someone else to protect yourself, but feel alone.

Maribeth decided to become the queen bee of the school and takes over any obstacle in her way. This book illustrates how girls deal with conflict. It isn't acceptable to be straightforward and cause conflict, so they get around it through passive aggression, creating rumors, and hurting each other socially. Maribeth is obsessed with projecting a perfect image as well, but she seems to enjoy the power hurting people without repercussion, having everyone's attention on her, and taking whatever she wants. She feels the negative aspects to when Waverly isn't as compliant as she was before, but she eventually values her social standing over that long time friendship. Waverly and Maribeth's relationship is a such a good example of how a good friendship can become toxic without even realizing it until it's too late. They were great at the beginning, but Maribeth eventually became insulting and cruel towards Waverly. Waverly knew how to handle Maribeth, appeasing her, making her think she's the one coming up with the best ideas, and making her feel like she has the most power. How is that a real friendship, especially when in return, Waverly gets backhanded comments, ridicule, and cruelty. It's never shown, but I assume the relationship became that way gradually. Waverly makes a lot of excuses for Maribeth, but then eventually sees how toxic their relationship is. A lot of this situation rang true for me as I experienced a similar relationship.

Marshall Holt is similar to Waverly. He seems to be the lazy slacker who will never amount to anything. He has completely checked out of school (if he bothers to show up) and spends most of his time with drinking, mind altering drugs, and making out with Heather. Underneath, he's quite empathetic, but his home situation wears on him. His father is disabled with a condition that may or may not be permanent. Marshall and his mother are often the target of his father's explosive anger that is really about his disability and his horrible situation. Marshall would rather drown out his feelings with substances and a meaningless physical relationship than feel all that pain. He's had a crush on Waverly for a while because he glimpsed the person she is underneath. The nights when she visits makes him want to be better and become worthy of her. They show each other their flaws and problems when they wouldn't to anyone in the real world. During the day, both ignore the other outwardly, but they long to be together. The tension during this part of the book was well done and not too angsty. Both characters are transformed by their interactions despite all the miscommunication, misunderstandings, and hurt feelings along the way.

Places No One Knows is a surprising book. I was so emotionally invested in these characters that I felt every emotion with them. I rushed through the book in a few days because I just had to know what would happen. Yovanoff made me care about these characters even though I've rolled my eyes and put down other similar books. I think each of these three characters are incredibly relatable and I can see parts of myself in each one. I also like that is has shades of fantasy with Waverly's dreams with Marshall. It's a small touch that makes a world of difference to the characters, providing a safe, insulated place to be themselves and really connect with another person. I can't wait to see what else Brenna Yovanoff will write. In the meantime, I will read her short fiction in The Curiosities and The Anatomy of Curiosities.

My rating: 5/5 fishmuffins

Vanishing Girls

Sisters Dara and Nick used to be the best of friends. They were born less than a year apart so they did and experienced everything together including their parents' divorce. Parker completed their trio and was also close with them since childhood. Then they got older and things got weird. Attractions formed; moments were awkward; and Parker ended up dating Dara, much to Nick's chagrin. Then the accident happened. The details are fuzzy, but Dara wasn't wearing a seatbelt while Nick lost control of her car. Dara is now scarred physically and emotionally while completely separating herself from her friends and family. Nick doesn't know how to mend their relationship and makes big plans for Dara's birthday, but Dara disappears. This is shortly after another girl disappeared and is still missing. Nick is convinced the two disappearances are related and she's determined to save her sister.

With every Lauren Oliver book, I can guarantee that I will read the book quickly and be sucked immediately into the story. She just writes interesting characters that I may not like, but I need to know what happens to them. I like and can relate to Nick. She's the more sensible of the two sisters and always feels the need to save Dara from herself. Nick is the one who is reliable, the "good" sister, and is hardly ever in trouble. Dara, on the other hand, is constantly going to parties, getting high or drunk, blacking out, and generally being irresponsible. Dara annoyed the crap out of me because she was so desperate for attention, but she still had my sympathy. No one deserves what happened to her and it's shame that she cut herself off from everyone. She seems to realize how destructive her behavior was and learned from her mistakes. Both girls envy each other, but create a front to protect themselves. They also have a toxic, codependent relationship where Nick constantly takes care of Dara and doesn't let her solve her own problems or learn from her own mistakes. The book alternates between Dara and Nick's point of view both before and after the accident with website articles with comments, diary entries, letters, and e-mails interspersed between them. I love when authors include writing outside of the main characters because it provides a more complete picture of what's going on and makes it feel real. The subplot with the missing girl and that associated craziness felt surprisingly Twin Peaks without the supernatural stuff.

Despite the well written characters and twists and turns in the plot, this is my least favorite Lauren Oliver book. There is game changing twist at the end. I don't have a problem with the twist itself, but it felt dishonest. I understand that narrators can be unreliable but I guessed at the twist early on and dismissed it. I felt deliberately misled and kind of cheated. I prefer The Sixth Sense style twist where everything is consistent and it totally blows your mind on subsequent viewings over the High Tension style twist that has a lot of inconsistencies. This was more like the latter. I still enjoy Lauren Oliver, but Vanishing Girls just didn't live up to my expectations.

My rating: 3/5 fishmuffins

Don't Touch

Caddie doesn't like to touch people and gets very anxious at even the prospect of people touching her. It started out as a game to play to cope with the turmoil in her family. Now that her parents have split up, it's an all consuming mantra. Maybe if she can keep from touching another person skin to skin, her dad will come back. She knows it sounds crazy and it probably doesn't effect anything, but she can't help it all the same. Despite the heat of the summer and the humidity, Caddie covers her whole body in clothing, even wearing evening gloves to school. Then things get tricky. She makes new friends and reconnects with an old friend that notice her weird quirks. Being cast as Ophelia in the school play won't make it any easier when she will be expected to interact and touch other actors, including Peter, her crush and the one cast as Hamlet. She wants to have a real relationship, but can't get the mantra out of her head.

Caddie has obsessive compulsive disorder, which is an anxiety disorder marked by fear or worry and repetitive behaviors aimed at lessening the anxiety. Her thoughts and fears may seem ridiculous to the reader and one might wonder why she doesn't just stop, but it's not that easy. I was very pleased with how the condition is treated in the book. Caddie does understandably work to keep it from everyone. She recognizes the behavior and thoughts are out of the ordinary and doesn't want her friends to think she's a freak. The condition affects everything in her life: her friendships, her crush, her school work, and her family. When it's revealed that she has this, her friends and family are accepting. They understandably feel a little sad that she hid it from them. I'm glad she wasn't demonized or mocked for having this disorder that she can't control and I'm glad she sought help from a professional in the end. The only unrealistic aspect was how fast the OCD was gotten over and her behavior returned to normal. It would have actually taken years in therapy and probably at least a few tries to get the correct kind and amount of medication.

The plot was fine and moved well. Her friends were an interesting group that didn't always get along, which I found realistic. I really hated Oscar because he would push people's boundaries and make them uncomfortable for fun. The romance was cute and a little frustrating. Whenever something wouln't go as planned, Peter would make random assumptions and the couple wouldn't communicate well. Other than that, I had no problems with the book. I felt it accurately portrayed the mental illness and wasn't judgmental or condemning. It's nice to see books like this because people can better understand and empathize with people who have mental illnesses.

My rating: 4/5 fishmuffins

Say What You Will

Amy has been going to school with the same people since she started, but very few people really know her. She has a severe case of cerebral palsy, meaning she can't walk without a walker, speak without a computer, or control her gestures or facial expressions. Adult aides have also helped her in her classes. To make more friends, she decided to employ people her own age in order to prepare for college and become more socialized. Enter Matthew, a sweet boy with obsessive compulsive disorder. He can't go a few hours without counting or tapping things, washing his hands over and over, fear of dirt or germs, and the irrational fear that something he does or doesn't do will inadvertently hurt someone. They become good friends when he works as her aide because he treats her like a real person and doesn't sugarcoat things. Their relationship eventually blossoms into something wholly unexpected.

Right off the bat, Say What You Will was a surprise because Amy's cerebral palsy, a central part of the novel, is omitted from the back cover. I'm not sure why this choice was made because I would definitely been more excited to read it had they included this aspect in the description. Her disability is severe and described accurately without glossing over things. There is no way for her to communicate without outward help: she can't speak or control her gestures or facial expressions. Despite her appearance and her nonverbal state, Amy is very intelligent and excels in school. She has never had any friends her own age, so she's very naive and doesn't know how to deal with people well. Her relationship with Matthew has a lot of extreme highs and lows due to miscommunication and the fact that neither of them has had a very close friend. He's the first person who isn't afraid to tell her the truth and refuses to treat her differently. I loved Amy for her honesty. She told things like they were and held realistic views. The lows she experienced were devastating because it's her first time experiencing rejection or being used or anything involving friends or boyfriends. Her depression and loneliness were written incredibly well and

Matthew was also a compelling and fully realized character. While he looks like a normal kid, he has debilitating obsessive compulsive disorder that isolates him and takes up much of his time. He's in denial about how severe it is despite the fact that it's very noticeable to everyone around him. Because of it, he avoids people, consumed with the irrational fears and compulsions in his mind. Although his issues are less obvious than Amy's, the effect is the same. They help each other out in a lot of ways and the relationship changes both of them dramatically. Most notably, Amy gives Matthew assignments to confront his OCD and he eventually gets professional help as a result. He is fragile in his own way and like Amy, the bad parts of the relationship are felt more keenly. Although their relationship never quite progresses to a full blown romance, their interactions are very sweet and I felt for them.

Although I thoroughly enjoyed the story, some parts of it were bothersome. Amy and Matthew would go months without speaking after a fight at least 3 times during the novel. The same situation repeated and the characters learned nothing from it apparently when they regretted it each time. Amy was very analytical in her approach to things, sometimes too much so. She makes the most insensitive decisions sometimes and it's frustrating. The whole third act of the book is very unexpected and I understand why it's there, but I didn't like it. I felt it was sort of preachy and the narrative didn't go into the issues I felt were necessary involving the subject when teens are the target audience.

Say What You Will is a thought provoking novel that deals with disabilities, both those that are easily recognized and those that aren't. It shows that these people are just like any person and they don't deserve to be treated like their fragile or incompetent. I particularly enjoyed the different modes of communication shown: e-mails, instant messages, unsent e-mails, etc. I will definitely keep an eye out for other books by Cammie McGovern.

My rating: 4/5 fishmuffins

Love Letters to the Dead

It's Laurel's first year in high school and the first school year without her sister, May, or her mother, who moved to California after May's death. She transferred to a different school so that she wouldn't be pitied and known as the girl whose sister died. Her English teacher assigns a project to write a letter to a dead person. Laurel chooses Kurt Cobain because he is May's favorite singer and also because she relates to his emotional lyrics.This first letter leads her to write to other dead celebrities, such as Amy Winehouse, Heath Ledger, Judy Garland, and John Keats. Laurel relates her lonely existence, her first friends at her new school, their antics, and her first boyfriend. Unfortunately, her refusal to talk about her issues and her penchant for doing dangerous things drives the people she loves away. Can she work through her issues before she permanently loses her friends or causes sever injury to herself?

Love Letters to the Dead is a very emotional book. Laurel goes through a lot in a very short amount of time and uses her letters to a variety of famous dead people to cope with it. She relates to their lives, their feelings, and their tragedies. I'm surprised that she researched more than what is common knowledge about their lives so that I learned something about them as well. Her letters also describe her new life and how she tries to transform herself. High school has much different expectations than middle school and she wears her sister's cool clothes and changes her habits to fit in. I generally liked Laurel and I felt for her. She's trying to work through her grief and the deep pain she feels while making mistakes along the way. Ava Dellaira employs beautiful, poetic prose that made me relate to Laurel and also made the book easy and enjoyable to read.

Unfortunately, I had quite a few issues with the book. Dellaira's lyrical prose isn't consistent. At times, Laurel writes in short and very simple declarative sentences that are a stark contrast to the lyrical prose that ventures into deep territory. It felt a bit disjointed and weird to me. She befriends Hannah and Natalie who basically peer pressure her into drinking, ditching classes, going to college parties, etc. She doesn't seem to want to actually do these things, but only wants to appear cool to her friends. This is never seen as negative, is never really addressed, and left a bad taste in my mouth. These are also very similar to May's destructive behaviors, but they magically didn't negatively effect Laurel's grades or behavior during school or at home even though she was getting drunk a lot, partying late, etc. I also didn't like her relationship with Sky. The chemistry was forced and the double standards were glaring. Sky expected Laurel to tell him everything while he kept up this mysterious guy facade and kept things from her late into their relationship. It was a bit awkward and the double standard bothered me. I was also shocked that her mother just decided to move out of state and leave her grieving family very soon after such a traumatic event. I felt it was incredibly selfish and pretty much unforgivable, especially when she calls weekly and expects Laurel to be ok with it.

Love Letters to the Dead is a mostly beautifully written novel. I enjoyed Laurel, her journey, and how she related to these dead people. Her story pulled at my heartstrings and took me on an emotional rollercoaster. The book addresses these mostly tragic figures lives well and informs the reader about their lives and their feelings. I did have some significant issues with parts of the story, but I overall enjoyed it.

My rating: 3/5 fishmuffins

Afterworlds

Darcy Patel spent a month during her senior year furiously writing a complete YA novel. It's been picked up by a large book publisher and Darcy puts off college to edit the book as well as write and edit a sequel. She moves to New York City for a change of scenery, encountering other authors (both debut and seasoned) to help her survive in the city and the publishing industry. The first book she's writing is called Afterworlds and features Lizzie, a girl who can travel to the space between living and dead after being the sole survivor in a terrorist attack. Both girls fall in love, experience heartbreak. and have adventures they never expected to have.

Afterworlds is two novels in one. One is in our world with Darcy Patel, debut young adult author struggling to finish her first book, and the other is in a fictional world with Lizzie, survivor and psychopomp (one who escorts the dead to the afterlife and yes it sounds weird). They are told in alternating chapters with no indication when it switches save for change of point of view. Each story is distinct and I never had a problem guessing which one I was in at any given point. Although the book is lengthy at over 600 pages, both stories kept momentum and my interest.

I honestly expected Darcy's story to be insanely boring and hard to get through compared to the much more exciting other story that has ghosts, another world, and a cute and mysterious death god. Contemporary fiction isn't my favorite genre either. I was pleasantly surprised when her story was equally thrilling and entertaining to read. Her story has more things every day people can relate to: the detachment from her familial culture, the discovery of her sexuality, her first relationship, and the trials and tribulations of creating a book. I liked Darcy because of her journey. She started out as extremely naive and unsure of just about everything, but eager to embark on this new adventure. Along the way, she matured and learned to trust in those she loves and how to make more informed, responsible desicions. I loved her relationship with Imogen Gray. Westerfeld captures the feeling of first love well, the magic and also the insecurity. It's also nice to see an LGBT romance when so many teen books act like they don't exist at all.

The story within a story was awesome and I couldn't get enough of it. The first chapter just hit me like a freight train and I couldn't put it down after that. Lizzie experienced a very traumatic event and on top of processing that, she has to figure out her new powers as a psychopomp. The character are less interesting than Darcy's story, but the concepts and themes are more complex. Ghosts survive on people's memories of them and they disappear when those people are gone. Their personalities and memories are also affected when someone dies who remembers a part of them that no one else remembers. It calls into question if ghosts are really people and never really resolves it. Lizzie has a whole slew of abilities including traveling on a river made of shreds of ghosts/memories, visiting buildings that are long gone, travelling through walls, and of course, talking to ghosts. The story had some seriously creeptastic moments, which I loved! This story also had the most problems. The death cult that orchestrated the terrorist attack is a big blank and isn't explored at all. The characters are less detailed. My biggest problem was when Lizzie commits a horrific crime and only feels remotely bad because her death god boyfriend doesn't want to spend time with her anymore. Darcy's narrative informs this book as the characters in that story discuss edits and decisions made about the plot, characters, etc, which is a cool added level.

Both stories are compelling in their own way, but Darcy's story feels more complete and well written. I think everyone could find something they like whether it's paranormal romance, contemporary fiction, cool mythologies, insight into the publishing industry, dark angsty stories, or more realistic stories. Scott Westerfeld is one of my favorite authors and Afterworlds doesn't disappoint. I'm not sure if there will be a sequel, but I will be all over it if there is.

My rating: 4.5/5 fishmuffins

Looking for Alaska

* major spoilers *

Miles Halter is bored. His whole existence has been unremarkable up to this point and he craves something significant: the "Great Perhaps." Culver Boarding School provides his change of scenery and throws his whole world upside down. His roommate Chip AKA The Colonel dubs him Pudge and draws him into his world of smoking, drinking, and pranks. Chip also brought Alaska into his life, a gorgeous, intelligent, and self destructive girl. Pudge falls head over heels in love with mesmerizing Alaska and learns so much about literature, life, and friendship. Then tragedy strikes. Pudge and his friends struggle to find meaning in the wake of the event and find a way to move forward.

I recently read The Fault in Our Stars and sobbed buckets over it, so I had to see what his earlier books were like. I've heard good things from a wide variety of people about Looking for Alaska, but I felt it didn't quite live up to the hype. I did enjoy it and it was successful in many ways. The characters are vibrant and memorable. Even the most minor characters made an impression. My favorite is the Colonel with his larger than life personality, small stature, and rough demeanor. Underneath, he is fiercely loyal and kind of a sweetheart. I liked the inclusion of taboo teen subjects like drinking, smoking, and sex. Censoring these things from teen books doesn't change that teens experience them and I found it to be much more real. It's kind of like watching The Goonies compared to current children's films that are so much more sanitized. The greatest strength of the book is how grieving and trying to find meaning in tragedy are portrayed. Everyone grieves differently and processes in their own time. Nothing is completely explained about Alaska's death. There's no convenient revelation that ties everything up because that's just not how life really is. Things are messy and we don't always know why things happen the way they do. We just have to come to terms with it in our own way and move on.

I was slightly underwhelmed because it didn't quite live up to the hype. It's another book about annoying pretentious teenagers which are very similar to the characters in The Fault in Our Stars. I didn't really like Alaska and felt she could be pretty inconsiderate and hurtful, so her death didn't affect as much as I think it was supposed to. The pros seriously outweigh the cons and I did enjoy the novel.

Looking for Alaska is a fast read and deals with death and its effect on people in a real way. I will definitely be reading the rest of John Green's books because they are addicting and I find hours of my time just gone because I got sucked into his books.

My rating: 4/5 fishmuffins

Tease

Sara Wharton is a bully. She and her friends are at the top social tier of the school with football players and they tormented Emma Putnam every single day. They called her names, set up fake social media accounts, and stalked her, among other numerous things. The abuse escalated until Emma committed suicide. Now Sara and four of her classmates are being charged criminally for the bullying and harassment that led to Emma's death. The public has already judged them and treat them similar to how they treated Emma. They are ostracized, called names, and seen as the lowest of the low. Sara maintains that she has done nothing wrong because she didn't commit murder and remains unconvinced that Emma didn't deserve to be treated that way. Sara has plenty of time to reflect on the time between meeting with her lawyers, her therapist, and going to summer school. Not only does she have to come to terms with her actions, but she also has to figure out how to move forward with her life.

Cases like Emma's are unfortunately not uncommon. I can remember numerous cases where young people were tormented by bullies and decided to take their lives. It's easy to empathize and sympathize with the victims of these bullies, but it's hard for me to feel anything but anger and disgust for unrepentant bullies. A recent case comes to mind where two girls aged 12 and 14 stalked and bullied a girl who then committed suicide. Their response was IDGAF (I don't give a fuck). I had no idea how someone could be so callous and cruel or what kind of thought process goes into that. Now I have some idea. Sara is not an easy narrator to relate to or even like. Much of her narrative made me enraged because of how clueless she was to what her actions caused. She maintains that she did nothing wrong and justifies her incredibly hurtful actions by saying everyone else does it and Emma deserved it. Throughout most of the book, she shows no remorse and only laments how her life is ruined. However, no bully is completely evil and they don't deserve to in turn be bullied. We should be trying to work to educate people so things like this don't happen instead of justifying and perpetuating bullying behavior. In an article about the girls I mentioned earlier, the comments section is full of people calling them names and saying they deserve to die or be incarcerated for life. How is this any different than what those girls did?

The themes in the novel are relevant to teens today. Peer pressure is a major reason why so many people bullied Emma and the situation got so out of hand. Teens want to appear cool and do what they popular kids are doing. Sara had a toxic relationship with her best friend Brielle queen bee of the school, who put down everyone including her friends. She manipulated those around her and masterminded a lot of the abuse. Sara went along with it for a while and then went to extremes with it because of Brielle's support. Their relationship skewed what is right and wrong because they acted like an echo chamber where dissent is grounds for social suicide. Another strong theme is sexuality and how its perceived by others. If girls are sexual in any way, including simply initiating conversations with boys, they are labeled sluts. If they withhold sex, they are labeled prudes and teases. Boys are rarely looked down upon for their sexuality, even if they cheat on their girlfriends or have multiple partners. The girl they cheated with (in this case Emma) bears all the consequences of an action that takes two people. Society's skewed view of female sexuality hurts these girls: Emma is a slut for "sleeping around" (which may not even be true) and this label is the main reason why she is so tormented by her classmates; Sara has sex with her boyfriend not because she wants to, but because it's what's expected of her or her boyfriend will go elsewhere if she doesn't; and Brielle blames herself for being raped and dismisses her own negative feelings about it. These issues still affect women in adulthood and it's a major societal problem that needs to be addressed.

Tease is an important novel because it touches on a lot of issues teens have to face and makes us see another side of bullying. No one in the story is perfect. Even Emma makes mistakes and says hurtful things, but she doesn't deserve to be stalked and humiliated at every turn. Neither does Sara, even though much of what she did was horrible. This is the best book I've seen about bullying. I only have one complaint. I would like to have seen Emma's perspective. I don't think Sara ever really understood her or thought to see the situation from her perspective.

My rating: 4/5 fishmuffins

Speechless

Chelsea Knot can't keep a secret. Everyone in school knows it. She's cute and best friends with one of the most popular girls in school, Kristen. Automatically cool and popular by association, Chelsea takes full advantage of her status and tries to keep Kristen happy even if it means belittling herself a bit. During a party, Chelsea sees something shocking and immediately tells the popular crowd. Some guys take it upon themselves to attack the person involved as a result. She tells the police and the guilty party is in the process of being punished, but Chelsea now faces ridicule and hate at every turn. Her classmates either hate her for telling the secret in the first place and generally being a blabbermouth or for getting star athletes arrested. Chelsea takes a vow of silence because she hurt so many people with her words. It's hard to stay silent when constantly attacked, but she makes some surprising new friends and finds out about who she is and who she wants to be.

Speechless is a good contemporary teen book about making mistakes and having the courage to do what you like and be yourself. I really enjoyed seeing Chelsea's journey throughout the novel, but she starts off as pretty terrible. She tells everyone's secrets to her best friend Kristen and then figures out how to make it work the most in their favor, either through blackmail or by spreading the secret to everyone at school. When she takes her vow of silence and all her friends abandon her, it becomes apparent that she really doesn't know who she is. The person she pretended to be took over her whole life, causing her to wear clothes she didn't like, do things she hated, and mold herself to another's liking. With no one to care or impress, she struggles to find out who she really is underneath it all. Her vow of silence allows her to view the world in a vastly different way than she did before. She sees the effect of words and experiences first hand how words can really hurt people. I like that this is bullying from the perspective of the bully because this is rarely seen in teen books.

One aspect I really liked was portraying the toxic relationship between Chelsea and Kristen. The friendship was always completely one sided with Kristen being the most important person while Chelsea accepts that she isn't good enough as herself and changes in accordance to Kristen's whims. I have personally been in two of such relationships that started normally enough, but ended this way. I don't see this type of relationship portrayed in teen books very often and it hit home for me. Chelsea's classmates' behavior just blew my mind. Two star athletes were arrested because of their own actions, but Chelsea's testimony was integral to catching them. They blamed Chelsea for the whole situation instead of those boys for acting heinously. That mentality is crazy to me, but unfortunately not unrealistic.

Speechless is a moving contemporary read that feels honest and realistic. The writing made me breeze through it easily, but the subject matter and emotions proved to make it more profound than a fluffy read. I would definitely read more books by Hannah Harrington.

My rating: 4/5 fishmuffins

Lola and the Boy Next Door

Lola Nolan has an outrageous and daring style, wearing different colorful costumes every single day. She's cheerful, effervescent, and devoted to her family. Her two dads aren't thrilled that her boyfriend Max is older and kind of a bad boy. Plus he's in a band. Her parents put a lot of restrictions on her like making her call in every hour when they are out, as if that would keep her out of trouble. Lola is pretty happy with her life the way  it is despite her overbearing dads. Her immediate goal is to make a super ornate Marie Antoinette gown to go to the winter formal with Max. Then a big complication enters her life: the Bell twins move in next door. They used to live there years before and both twins made her life hell. Calliope hates Lola and is mean to her at every turn. Her twin Cricket was her first love and he broke her heart when he led her on and moved away suddenly. Now those complicated feelings are back and Lola doesn't know what to do.

I normally don't read a lot of contemporary teen fiction and especially not ones solely centered around romance. Romance is usually good in the periphery for me and I usually hate it when it overtakes a story. I was introduced to Stephanie Perkins through Misty's review of Anna and the French Kiss at The Book Rat. She had the same misgivings as I had and she loved it. Of course I had to give it a try. I absolutely loved it and I had to read Lola and the Boy Next Door. Stephanie Perkins has this magical ability to capture the feeling of first teen love. With any other author and characters I would be rolling my eyes and being annoyed at , but she taps into those teenage feelings in me. I can't pinpoint exactly what it is, but I was on the emotional rollercoaster right with Cricket and Lola. I also thought this novel was a little more complex and deeper than Anna and the French Kiss, but Anna and St. Clair are added bonus characters in this novel as well.

Lola and Cricket are both amazing characters. The first thing I thought when I heard Lola's name was Lolita from the Nabokov novel and it was totally mentioned in the first few pages. That just made me book nerd out a bit because I never would have expected that in a teen book. Anyway, back to Lola, I liked that the novel was about more than just romance. It was about Lola finding out who she really is. Do her clothing and makeup change who she is? Is she hiding behind them? Cricket is also a wonderful character with his own set of problems, mostly involving his family. I found him endearing and far superior to Max. He is his own person outside of his relationship with Lola, which I think is important. Creepy co-dependent relationships run rampant in YA fiction and it's nice to see a healthy relationship for once.

I loved Lola and the Boy Next Door. I surprisingly and thoroughly enjoyed a contemporary romantic comedy teen novel. It plucked at my heartstrings and made me giggle like a fool. I can't wait to read her next book, Isla and the Happily Ever After. I recommend this to all YA readers, even if you think it's not your type of book.

My rating: 5/5 fishmuffins