(ARC) Book Review (447): How To Win At High School - Owen Matthews

How to Win at High School

by Owen Matthews

Publication: 3rd March 2015

Publisher: Harper Teen

Pages: 528

Genre: Contemporary

Age Appropriate: Young Adult

Buy It: Amazon + Barnes & Noble

Using Scarface as his guide to life, Adam Higgs is going from zero to high school hero.

Adam Higgs is a loser, and he’s not okay with it. 

But starting as a junior in a new high school seems like exactly the right time to change things. He brainstorms with his best friend, Brian: What will it take for him to take over Nixon Collegiate? 

Adam searches for the A-listers’ weak spot and strikes gold when he gets queen bee Sara Bryant to pay him for doing her physics homework. One part nerd, two parts badass, Adam ditches his legit job and turns to full-time cheating. His clients? All the Nixon Collegiate gods and goddesses.

But soon his homework business becomes a booze business, which becomes a fake ID business. Adam’s popularity soars as he unlocks high school achievements left and right, from his first kiss to his first rebound hookup. But something else is haunting him—a dark memory from his past, driving him to keep climbing. What is it? And will he go too far?

How to Win at High School’s honest portrayal of high school hierarchy is paired with an adrenaline-charged narrative and an over-the-top story line, creating a book that will appeal to guys, girls, and reluctant readers of every stripe. Adam’s rocket ride to the top of the social order and subsequent flameout is both emotionally resonant and laugh-out-loud funny.

My Thoughts.

I was so surprised by how much I enjoyed this book, I flew through it in one sitting, it was a quick read which I attribute to the way it was set out in the book, with some pages only having a couple of sentences at most.

High School can be a scary time for a lot of people especially for Adam Higgs, a self-confessed loser who is determined to rise high in the ranks and hang with the popular kids, ever since his older brother Sam was injured playing hockey and ended up a paraplegic he's determined to have Sam live vicariously through him and to become king of the school just like Sam should have had the chance to be, the only problem is obtaining that goal, when you're known as the pizza boy working at the local Pizza Hut you need something else to be known for, so when an opportunity opens up he takes it, and that is doing the popular kids homework for money, that soon moves onto alcohol and pills, even having to hire other people to help him with his growing business, but Adam is so focused on his goal that his girlfriend Victoria (who is blind to what he's actually doing) and Sam get set aside for his determination to rule the school.

Things end up going downhill eventually lost amidst the money, booze, sex and drugs will Adam realise all that he's lost on his way to popularity?

I found this book to be almost addictive in the sense I really didn't wan't to put it down, an interesting male lead who goes from zero to hero his upwards rise and downwards fall and all the stuff in-between, thoroughly enjoyable and a great look into high school hierachy.

I give this 4/5 stars.

Owen Matthews was raised on rap music and violent video games. He is a graduate of the University of British Columbia’s creative writing program and has worked on fishing boats and in casinos all over the world. Under the name Owen Laukkanen, he writes crime thrillers acclaimed by critics and bestselling authors like Lee Child, Jonathan Kellerman, and John Lescroart. A fan of fast cars and sugary breakfast cereals, Matthews lives in Vancouver, Canada.

You can visit him at www.theowenmatthews.com.

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(ARC) Book Review (446): Solitaire - Alice Oseman

Solitaire

by Alice Oseman

Publication: 30th March 2015

Publisher: HarperTeen

Pages: 368

Genre: Contemporary

Age Appropriate: Young Adult

Buy It: Amazon * Barnes & Noble

In case you're wondering, this is not a love story.

My name is Tori Spring. I like to sleep and I like to blog. Last year – before all that stuff with Charlie and before I had to face the harsh realities of A-Levels and university applications and the fact that one day I really will have to start talking to people – I had friends. Things were very different, I guess, but that's all over now.

Now there's Solitaire. And Michael Holden.

I don't know what Solitaire are trying to do, and I don't care about Michael Holden.

I really don't.

This incredible debut novel by outstanding young author Alice Oseman is perfect for fans of John Green, Rainbow Rowell and all unflinchingly honest writers.

My Thoughts.

I went into Solitaire not knowing what to expect, the synopsis isn't really clear on the ARC copy so I went in blind, unfortunately this wasn't the book for me, I found the main character Tori's negativity so grating and annoying to read, add to that the plot that was mostly quite frankly boring except for the Solitaire pranks it picked up a little bit towards the end, and the only reason why I read this book all the way through was to find out who the creator of Solitaire was.

I wasn't really all that fond of most of the characters in this story except for a couple of exceptions, everyone just seemed to be depressed or angry or both, it didn't really make for a pleasant read at times, and once I'd put it down I found it hard to want to pick it back up again.

I never once connected to any of the characters and without being able to do that it doesn't bode well for me liking anything about the story, let's face it the characters are what are meant to make the story and draw you in and I found none of that whilst reading it.

Looking on Goodreads I see a fair amount of people have really enjoyed this book and I seem to be in the minority, but each to their own, I may possibly pick up one of Alice's future releases we will have to see depending on the plot of course.

I give this 2.5/5 stars.

Alice Oseman was born in 1994 in Kent, England. She is studying English at Durham University, probably due to the expectation of society, but mostly spends her time obsessing over fictional characters, drawing really dumb comics, and complaining about things on her Tumblr, chronicintrovert.tumblr.com. Hopefully, she’ll avoid having to get a real job for the rest of her life.
Alice wrote a book when she was seventeen. That book, SOLITAIRE, was published by HarperCollins in July 2014.

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(ARC) Book Review (445): Back In The Game (Stardust, Texas #1) - Lori Wilde

Back in the Game (Stardust, Texas #1)

by Lori Wilde

Publication: 24th February 2015

Publisher: Avon

Pages: 384

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Age Appropriate: Adult

Buy It:  Amazon | Barnes | ITunes | Kobo

New York Times bestselling author Lori Wilde welcomes you to Stardust, Texas . . . where dreams come true and love is always right around the corner

Wanted: ghostwriter. Must be female, a baseball fan, and have a great pair of legs.

Ex-pitcher Rowdy Blanton never saw a woman he couldn't conquer or a team he couldn't beat. And now that he's off the field he's ready to tell all about when he played the field. So he chooses Breeanne Carlyle to do the job—she's got the requirements, but more important, there's something about her that makes him want to be a better man.

Convinced there's more to Rowdy than a good fastball, a wicked smile, and a tight pair of pants, Breeanne can't help but be tempted. After all, it's boring always being the good girl, and Rowdy dares her to be just a little bad. The stakes are high, but win or lose, this time Breeanne's breaking all the rules playing the game of love.

My Thoughts.

I have to admit that this is the first Lori Wilde book I've ever read, although I own quite a few books of hers I've just now gotten around to being able to pick one up and I'm kicking myself for having waited so long, I loved this book!

Back In The Game is the first book in an all new series Stardust,Texas, this story has elements that I love in a book, a famous sports star Rowdy Blanton famous for his many conquests, who is finally brought to his knees by the virginal Breeanne Carlyle.

Rowdy a baseball ex-pitcher has decided to write his biography, for that he'll need a ghostwriter to help get it done, enter Breeanne who works at her family's bookstore and has published a couple of books which didn't exactly sell like hotcakes, so being a huge fan of baseball and Rowdy she jumps at the chance.

With some smokin' hot chemistry between these two it's only a matter of time before things start to become less than professional, and the more Rowdy reveals of his childhood and career the deeper Breeanne's feelings for him become.

I really enjoyed reading about Breeanne's family the Carlyle's, I'm excited to read the other three sisters stories and see who they find their happily ever afters with, this story was humorous, heart warming and just so much fun to read.

Very enjoyable, highly recommended.

I give this 5/5 stars.

About The Author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Lori Wilde has sold seventy-eight works of fiction to four major New York Publishing houses.

Her first NYT bestseller, the third book in her Twilight, Texas series, The First Love Cookie Club has been optioned for a television movie. The town of Granbury, Texas, upon which her fictional town of Twilight, Texas is loosely based, honors Lori with an annual Twilight, Texas weekend each Christmas.

A popular writing instructor, Lori is a two time RITA finalist and has four times been nominated for Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award. She's won the Colorado Award of Excellence, the Wisconsin Write Touch Award, The Golden Quill, the Lories, and The More than Magic.

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(ARC) Book Review (444): Better Than Perfect - Melissa Kantor

Better Than Perfect

by Melissa Kantor 

Publication: 17th February 2015

Publisher: HarperTeen

Pages: 336

Genre: Contemporary

Age Appropriate: Young Adult

Buy It: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, The Book Depository

Juliet Newman has it all. A picture-perfect family; a handsome, loving boyfriend; and a foolproof life plan: ace her SATs, get accepted into Harvard early decision, and live happily ever after.

But when her dad moves out and her mom loses it, Juliet begins questioning the rules she’s always lived by. And to make everything even more complicated there’s Declan, the gorgeous boy who makes her feel alive and spontaneous—and who’s totally off-limits. Torn between the life she always thought she wanted and one she never knew was possible, Juliet begins to wonder: What if perfect isn't all it’s cracked up to be?

Melissa Kantor once again delivers a tale that is equal parts surprising, humorous, heartbreaking, and romantic. Powerful and honest, Juliet’s story brilliantly portrays the highs and lows of life in high school and will resonate with any reader who has experienced either.

My Thoughts.

Better Than Perfect is a contemporary novel about a girl Juliet Newman who has what she believes is the perfect life, when her Dad ups and leaves her Mom isn't coping well at all, and life as she knew it is changing in ways she never expected.

Juliet and her boyfriend Jason both have their futures mapped out including attending Harvard together, but Juliet is coming to realise that all that she's strived so hard to achieve may not be what she really wants after all, especially after meeting Declan and his siblings who have their own band which Juliet ends up helping out with by singing lead vocals, the attraction is pretty hard to ignore and they both have a lapse of judgement a couple of times, I'm not a fan of reading books with cheating, especially when it's the main character, so as much as I would have liked Juliet and Declan as a couple I couldn't get over how wrong it was.

Better Than Perfect was an alright book for me, I absolutely adored Maybe One Day last year so I was really excited to receive an ARC of this book, but I was left disappointed it was a book that I wasn't really in a rush to get through and I was a bit underwhelmed.

I still want to read whatever else Melissa releases as I do enjoy her writing.

I give this 3.5/5 stars.

 I was born in New York City in 1970. And even though teachers never care about this, I'll give you my sign--Capricorn.

When I was in seventh grade, I told people I was going to be a writer. Then in college I got interested in other things, and after I graduated I started teaching, which I love. But ideas for stories kept popping into my head. One was an image of two girls walking down Montague Street (that’s the main drag in Brooklyn Heights) during their lunch period. They were best friends, only one of the girls was cooler and prettier and more successful with boys than the other one. They were talking about a party they’d been invited to, trying to decide if they wanted to go or not. Finally I decided I had to know what happened to them. Those girls became Jan and Rebecca, and their story is Confessions of a Not It Girl.

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(ARC) Book Review (443): The Last Time We Say Goodbye - Cynthia Hand

The Last Time We Say Goodbye

by Cynthia Hand

Publication: 10th February 2015

Publisher: Harper Teen

Pages: 400

Genre: Contemporary

Age Appropriate: Young Adult

Buy It:  Amazon • Barnes & Noble

There's death all around us.
We just don't pay attention.
Until we do.

The last time Lex was happy, it was before. When she had a family that was whole. A boyfriend she loved. Friends who didn't look at her like she might break down at any moment.

Now she's just the girl whose brother killed himself. And it feels like that's all she'll ever be.

As Lex starts to put her life back together, she tries to block out what happened the night Tyler died. But there's a secret she hasn't told anyone-a text Tyler sent, that could have changed everything.

Lex's brother is gone. But Lex is about to discover that a ghost doesn't have to be real to keep you from moving on.

From New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Hand, The Last Time We Say Goodbye is a gorgeous and heart-wrenching story of love, loss, and letting go.

My Thoughts.

It's not very often that I read a book that has me in tears countless times throughout the story, I was so  emotionally invested that I lost count of the amount of times that I had to put the book down because it was just so sad and I couldn't stop the tears from falling without taking a break to calm down.

The Last Time We Say Goodbye is a devastatingly sad story, heartbreaking and hard to read without thinking about how you would handle it if it happened to you.

After her brother Ty kills himself, Lex is finding it hard to cope, she has broken up with her boyfriend and closed herself off from her friends, and just seems to be going through the motions, same as her Mom who isn't dealing with it at all, her therapist gets her to start writing her thoughts and feelings down, and it's through this that we see how much Lex is hurting, we also get to read about memories of Ty throughout his life, up to the day he ended it.

Even now that I've finished reading this book, just thinking about it has me tearing up, it made such an impact, the fact that we discover in the acknowledgements that Cynthia's own brother committed suicide when he was seventeen helps you to understand how she was able to make this story as devastating as it was from her own personal experience.

I love Cynthia's books, I'm a huge fan of her Unearthly series, and I was excited when I received a copy to review, I flew through it it's a beautifully written story that will stay with me for a long time to come.

You'll definitely need the tissues for this one,I can't praise this book enough.

I give this 5/5 stars.

Cynthia Hand is the New York Times bestselling author of the Unearthly series with HarperTeen: UNEARTHLY, HALLOWED, RADIANT (an enovella) and BOUNDLESS. Currently she lives in southern California with her husband and two small children. She teaches courses in creative writing at Pepperdine University. Her next book, THE LAST TIME WE SAY GOODBYE, will be released in February 2015.

(ARC) Book Review (442): When Reason Breaks - Cindy L. Rodriguez

When Reason Breaks

by Cindy L. Rodriguez

Publication: 10th February 2015

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's 

Pages: 304

Genre: Contemporary

Age Appropriate: Young Adult

Buy It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

13 Reasons Why meets the poetry of Emily Dickinson in this gripping debut novel perfect for fans of Sara Zarr or Jennifer Brown.

A Goth girl with an attitude problem, Elizabeth Davis must learn to control her anger before it destroys her. Emily Delgado appears to be a smart, sweet girl, with a normal life, but as depression clutches at her, she struggles to feel normal. Both girls are in Ms. Diaz’s English class, where they connect to the words of Emily Dickinson. Both are hovering on the edge of an emotional precipice. One of them will attempt suicide. And with Dickinson’s poetry as their guide, both girls must conquer their personal demons to ever be happy.

In an emotionally taut novel with a richly diverse cast of characters, readers will relish in the poetry of Emily Dickinson and be completely swept up in the turmoil of two girls grappling with demons beyond their control.

My Thoughts.

When Reason Breaks is a heartbreaking novel about two girls who are each harboring feelings of pain and depression, but the face they show to the outside world is markedly different.

So much so for one girl who believes the only way to handle it is to end her life and put herself out of her misery, and this is how the book begins, we see a girl as she's lying close to death, will someone arrive in time or will it be too late?

What's interesting about this book is the way it's set up with the story going back in time leading up to the opening scene, we also never get told at the start who this girl is, but we know it's one of two girls, Emily a very smart student, the daughter of the town's council chairman who has to be on her best behaviour for her Father's public image and Elizabeth a goth girl with a serious attitude problem.

Throughout this story these two girls will connect, their lives will be changed and they may just get the help they need.

This was an amazing story, emotional and at times uplifting, featuring a sensitive subject that will get you thinking.

I really enjoyed Cindy's writing and I'll be sure to keep an eye out for whatever she releases next.

I give this 5/5 stars.

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Hi! I’m Cindy L. Rodriguez, the author of WHEN REASON BREAKS, a young adult novel that released 2/10/15 with Bloomsbury. I am represented by Laura Langlie. I teach middle school reading and college-level composition. I'm a big fan of the three Cs: coconut, coffee, and chocolate. I live in Connecticut with my daughter and rescue mutt.

(ARC) Book Review (441): I Remember You - Cathleen Davitt Bell

I Remember You

by Cathleen Davitt Bell 

Publication: 10th February 2015
Publisher: Knopf Books For Young Readers
Pages: 320
Genre: Contemporary/Science-Fiction
Age Appropriate: Young Adult
Buy It: Amazon • Barnes & Noble • iBooks • Kobo• Book Depository

For fans of THE FUTURE OF US comes an engrossing story of two teens, whose love for each other is tested by time and fate.
 
Lucas and Juliet couldn’t be more different from each other. But from the moment Lucas sees Juliet, he swears he remembers their first kiss. Their first dance. Their first fight. He even knows what’s going to happen between them—not because he can predict the future, but because he claims to have already lived it.
 
Juliet doesn’t know whether to be afraid for herself or for Lucas. As Lucas’s memories occur more frequently, they also grow more ominous. All Juliet wants is to keep Lucas safe with her. But how do you hold on to someone you love in the present when they’ve begun slipping away from you in the future?

My Thoughts.

It's always great when I come across a book that tugs at the heart strings and makes such an emotional impact, that hours later I'm still thinking about it.

I really enjoy any story that has a past/future intertwining, when it's written so well like this book was, it also helps when the characters are extremely likeable and easy for the reader to connect to and hence you find yourself emotionally vested.

Lucas is a high school star hockey player, Juliet is a straight A student, so when Lucas admits to Juliet that he has memories of the two of them together Juliet thinks he has a few screws loose, but when events that he has described start to occur, Juliet comes to the realisation that he's telling the truth and that Lucas' future self is somehow sending memories to his seventeen year old past self.

I shed quite a few tears throughout this book, it's a sad story in a way.

I really liked Cathleen's writing and I hope to read her other published works at some point.

I adored this book and I can't praise it enough.

I give this 5/5 stars.

I was born in Princeton, NJ in 1971 and lived there until I was twelve, when we moved with my mom moved to West Hartford, CT.

My dad and mom had been divorced when I was two, and my dad lived in Williamstown, MA. I spent summers and school vacations with him.

I went to college in New York, at Barnard, and stayed in New York after I graduated. I worked as a newspaper reporter for three months, as a salesperson for a multimedia publisher for three years, and as a market researcher, and finally a copywriter.

I’m married and have two awesome kids ages two and five. I lived in Manhattan for sixteen years, but now am in Brooklyn, living downstairs from my sister and her family. I have two dogs named Oscar and Oprah. My favorite food is pizza and, strangely, in my thirties, I’ve developed a great love for playing catch. Slipping is my first book.

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