Review: Anna and the French Kiss by: Stephanie Perkins

Anna and the French Kiss by: Stephanie Perkins
Publisher: Dutton
Publication Date: December 2, 2010
Format: Paperback (with flaps)
Page Count: 372
Genre: Contemporary
Buy the Book: Amazon

Summary from Goodreads:

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris - until she meets Etienne St. Clair: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home. As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near - misses end with the French kiss Anna - and readers - have long awaited?

My Review:

This year I have set a goal to read more contemporary novels and this one was at the top of my list. I’ve heard that Stephanie Perkins is like the Queen of Contemporary, so I just had to read one of her books. Anna and the French Kiss did not disappoint! From the gorgeous and romantic Paris nightlife to the even more gorgeous Etienne St.Clair, this book was fabulous all around!

I was shocked at the beginning when Anna was being sent to a boarding school in Paris and she wasn’t happy about it. I mean, who wouldn’t want to live in Paris for a year? But then, as I got to know her life and character more, I understood that it was taking her away from her friends and her potential boyfriend, and that it was her parent’s wish, not hers.

Anna Oliphant is seemingly the only new student in the senior class of the School of America in Paris. She doesn’t know much in French besides the basics that everyone knows like merci, and au revoir. So, naturally, she stands out.

A group of artsy students take her under their wings and they become best friends fast. Among this group is the history buff and swoonworthy Etienne St. Clair (St. Clair for short). From first glance, he has Anna’s heart. She can play the whole best friends game, but for how long? The tension builds throughout the whole book and it was so frustrating (in the best way)!

While Anna is falling more and more in love with St. Clair in Paris, she has a life in Atlanta that’s nagging at her. Her co-worker at a movie theater there, Toph, and her were about to become serious just before she left. Her previous life across the pond is becoming less of a priority than her new Paris life, especially after she visits home on her break.

St. Clair shows her Paris and all of the places that inspire him. While they watch movies and explore the city, he lets her into his life in a way he doesn’t to most people. About his lame excuse for a father and how he’s American, British, and a little French. There’s a catch to him that Anna can’t stop herself from thinking about. St. Clair has a girlfriend, Ellie. Anna knows that he must feel something for her and wonders why he stays with Ellie.

The complexity of the characters in Anna and the French Kiss is outstanding to say the least. With Anna dealing with her feelings for St.Clair and him trying to figure out his personal life in general, I found that I had a profound connection with the main characters, as well as some of the minor ones.

As Anna lives and loves in the City of Light, she discovers a new part of herself as well. St. Clair and Anna make for a pair that will make you laugh hysterically and bring goosebumps to your skin.

Official Rating:

Five Un-Birthday Cakes!

 

 

Review: Between Shades of Gray by: Ruta Sepetys

Between Shades of Gray by: Ruta Sepetys

Publication Date: March 22, 2011

Publisher: Philomel Books

Page Count: 344

Format: Hardcover (Thanks Hannah!)

Buy the Book: Amazon

Summary from Goodreads:

Lina is just like any other fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl in 1941. She paints, she draws, she gets crushes on boys. Until one night when Soviet officers barge into her home, tearing her family from the comfortable life they've known. Separated from her father, forced onto a crowded and dirty train car, Lina, her mother, and her young brother slowly make their way north, crossing the Arctic Circle, to a work camp in the coldest reaches of Siberia. Here they are forced, under Stalin's orders, to dig for beets and fight for their lives under the cruelest of conditions.Lina finds solace in her art, meticulously-and at great risk-documenting events by drawing, hoping these messages will make their way to her father's prison camp to let him know they are still alive. It is a long and harrowing journey, spanning years and covering 6,500 miles, but it is through incredible strength, love, and hope that Lina ultimately survives.Between Shades of Gray is a novel that will steal your breath and capture your heart.

My Review:

I am so glad to have read this book. It enlightened me on so many things that I knew vaguely about but had never really grasped. This story gives a us a glimpse of what thousands of people were forced to live through because of Stalin and the NKVD.

True, this was a bit of a hard read, but I loved every piece of raw emotion it portrayed. Lina and her family are captured by the NKVD  (Soviet police) and taken to live in the most despicable living conditions imaginable with hardly any food and endless labor. 

Through it all, Lina remains strong and cares for her mother and brother more than herself. Early on in their brutal journey, the three are separated from their father. Lina decides to draw her location on any surface she can find and pass it on in the hopes of it eventually reaching him. The hope in Between Shades of Gray is one of it's best qualities. It made me realize that hope is what keeps people going in times like Lina's.

Most of the events in the story are to the point. There isn't much elaboration of emotions. This makes it unique from other historical, etc. books I've read. Even without that, I connected with Lina and her point of view.

When they settle into the first town, Lina meets a bunch of new people. She forms a friendship with Andrius, a boy her age. They understand each other. With all the people in the camps, they are bonded by their situation, which allows some mutual understanding among everybody. There is a slight romance between them. I kind of wish there was more interaction between them. 

If you like historical books that are truthful, you'll love Between Shades of Gray!

Official Rating:

Four Un-Birthday Cakes!

Review: Saving June by Hannah Harrington

Saving June by: Hannah Harrington
Publication Date: November 22, 2011
Publisher: Harlequin
Page Count: 322
Format: Paperback Original
Series: None
Genre: Contemporary
Buy the Book: Amazon

Summary from Goodreads:

When her older sister commits suicide and her divorcing parents decide to divide the ashes, Harper Scott takes her sister's urn to the one place June always wanted to go: California. On the road with her best friend, plus an intriguing guy with a mysterious connection to June, Harper discovers truths about her sister, herself and life.

My Review:

This year I have made a resolution to read more contemporary books and this is one of my first for 2012. I have a hard time imagining picking a better way to kick off the New Year! This book was full of gritty and harsh reality but also the beauty of being human and enjoying everything life has to offer, as cliche as that might sound.

Saving June began on a rather sad note, with June's death the main event. I knew however, with a character as snarky and brutally honest as Harper, that her journey was going to be gripping and fantastic.

The second that Jake, Harper, and Laney began formulating the plan to take a road trip to California, I was hooked. The way all of their personalities clash was just amazing and hilarious to read. Laney, with her obsession with Hollywood film stars and live-in-the-moment attitude. Harper, with her Polaroid and snarky comebacks. And lastly, Jake, with his fedora and never failing ability to both annoy and thrill Harper.

I love seeing relationships like Haper and Jake's. The whole love-hate thing is just absolutely fantastic! Its probably my one of my favorite dynamics in the story. The tension between them built up to a massive boiling point that kept me madly turning the pages! Jake seemed to know what Harper was thinking all the time and was always honest even when the truth wasn't something she wanted to hear. The same vice-versa.

The detours that the trio took on route to California was a great plot addition. From the protest to the punk rock mosh pit, they were all interesting and unique. Each stop contributed to a huge theme in the story, I think. That even with the pain of losing June, Harper would rather have that and be stunningly bursting with life than to take the road that June did.

Official Rating:

Four and a half Un-Birthday Cakes!

Forbidden by: Tabitha Suzuma

Forbidden by: Tabitha Suzuma
Published: June 28, 2011
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Page Count: 464
Format: ebook
Series: None
Buy the Book: Amazon

Summary from Goodreads:

Seventeen-year-old Lochan and sixteen-year-old Maya have always felt more like friends than siblings. Together they have stepped in for their alcoholic, wayward mother to take care of their three younger siblings. As defacto parents to the little ones, Lochan and Maya have had to grow up fast. And the stress of their lives--and the way they understand each other so completely--has also also brought them closer than two siblings would ordinarily be. So close, in fact, that they have fallen in love. Their clandestine romance quickly blooms into deep, desperate love. They know their relationship is wrong and cannot possibly continue. And yet, they cannot stop what feels so incredibly right. As the novel careens toward an explosive and shocking finale, only one thing is certain: a love this devastating has no happy ending.

My Review:

    How do I start this?
  
   Let me begin by saying what I was feeling during the first couple chapters and even before I began the book. The idea of a brother and sister having an intimate relationship was repulsing and creepy, and I had never heard of a book revolving around such disgusting nonsense. At the same time I figured there had to be some reason that Hyperion published it, right? So, I decided that giving it a chance was the best thing to do because if I didn't, it would be nagging at me until I did.
   I will analyze this book thouroughly and as best I can.
    The beginning and the first few chapters seemed pretty normal and somewhat slowgoing. I was paying special attention to the character development of Maya and Lochan, however, which made it interesting to read.
   They are basically homemakers all by themselves. Their mom still acts like an irresponsible teenager and they are always fighting to try and not have their younger siblings picked up by child services. The way it switches percspectives helped me in feeling exactly what the two of them were going through.
   Their more intimate relationship developed both slowly and suddenly. It took them both by surprise, like they had been denying there was ever anything more than family between them. They were utterly confused. It didn't make sense that they should feel anything more than a familial bond. It weighs on them so much, what they have started to realize and what refused to be ignored. They were in love and could tell no one. Anyone who knew would judge them automatically as being sick and perversed for even entertaining the idea.
   Both Maya and Lochan were tearing themselves apart, thinking there was something wrong with them. Surprisingly, in the middle of the book, I felt like yelling in there faces that there was absiolutely nothing wrong with them, that they were really and impossibly in love.
   This book taught me an important life lesson. A lot of the time, I judge people or situations automatically after acknowledging them. Now, if ever I hear about a situation like the one in this book or a simple news story, I will not judge the people involved or begin to assume anything about them or their situation. Thanks, Tabitha Suzuma, for teaching this to me and your other readers.
     I must praise Tabitha Suzuma on writing this novel so artfully. If anyone had to write a book on the very controversial subject of incest, she was the one for it.

The Near Witch by: Victoria Schwab

The Near Witch by: Victoria Schwab
Published: August 11, 2011
Publisher: Hyperion Books CH
Page Count: 282
Format: ebook
Series: None
Buy the Book: Amazon

Summary from Goodreads:

The Near Witch is only an old story told to frighten children.

 If the wind calls at night, you must not listen. The wind is lonely, and always looking for company. 

And there are no strangers in the town of Near.

These are the truths that Lexi has heard all her life.

 But when an actual stranger—a boy who seems to fade like smoke—appears outside her home on the moor at night, she knows that at least one of these sayings is no longer true.

The next night, the children of Near start disappearing from their beds, and the mysterious boy falls under suspicion. Still, he insists on helping Lexi search for them. Something tells her she can trust him.

As the hunt for the children intensifies, so does Lexi’s need to know—about the witch that just might be more than a bedtime story, about the wind that seems to speak through the walls at night, and about the history of this nameless boy.

Part fairy tale, part love story, Victoria Schwab’s debut novel is entirely original yet achingly familiar: a song you heard long ago, a whisper carried by the wind, and a dream you won’t soon forget.

My Review:

     This book started off with Lexi seeing something strange outside her bedroom window, which I must say, was one of the best ways to hook me onto a mystery book. Instantly, a thousand questions sparked in my head and I just had to keep going at a rapid rate!
     The place where the main character, Lexi, lives is called Near but she doesn't live in the town, per say, more like the edge of it. The way she describes the moor seemed directly parallel to the mystery, in a way. The wind whispered over the hills and Lexi had something of a sixth sense to listen to it and hear its beckoning call.  That was a creepy element that I got all jittery about, which, of course, made it so much better!
     Lexi was so independent and determined to find out who or what was causing the children to go missing. She would stop at nothing, despite the how persistent everyone around her was that she shouldn't pursue something so dangerous.
     Then Cole enters the story. Really, that boy could be a mystery novel in himself. The way he spoke and held himself was intriguing to behold. There seemed to be an alternate meaning behind everything he said, always something hinting at his troubled past. He and Lexi pair up to set things right in Near and  as they delve deeper into the mystery surrounding the town, there relationship blossoms into romance at the same rate. The romance and mystery kind of intertwine into a really exciting relationship between Cole and Lexi.
    I kind of predicted some of what happened in the middle of the book, but it didn't lessen the amazement I felt when I read how it all played out. This book comes highly recommended from me, as it is a rare occurrence of jitter-inducing, creepy, romantic, gritty mystery in Young Adult literature.
   
    

The Help by: Kathryn Stockett

The Help by: Kathryn Stockett

Publisher: Penguin
Published: February 10, 2009
Series: None
Format: Print/eBook
Page count: 522
Buy the book: http://amzn.to/tZKTCC

Summary from Amazon:

A modern classic, The Help has been a cultural touchstone for the millions of readers who have cheered on Skeeter, laughed with Minny, and hissed at Hilly. The noble and strong Aibileen has become a heroine for countless fans whose letters have poured in from all over the world.

My Review:

          I'm not the first person to review this book, but it's too good to resist reviewing. Arguably better than the movie, the book gave me goosebumps and more than its share of laughs and tears. Switching between the three main characters' perspectives, Skeeter, Minny, and Aibileen, the only confusing aspects of the book may be the bombardament of names and nothing indicating the passage of time. However, the characters--frustrating, loveable, and hysterical as they are--are the driving force of the story, from Minny's stubborn, tell-it-like-it-is personality, to Skeeter's compassion and lessening naivete, to the ridiculous employers across town that arouse shock, hate, and empathy. The book is a little slow, but the thickening tension never lets up, dragging you through the social, financial, and racial affairs of a small Southern town in 1962. Warning: The book will not fail to suck you into its pages, so make sure you've got a huge chunk of time and a box of tissues to plunk down somewhere and read it. Even if you've seen the movie before you read the book, go for it--I did, and I was NOT disappointed.