Goodbye, Rebel Blue

by Shelley Coriell
4/5 stars
Harry N. Abrams, 2013
307 pages
YA Contemporary

Source: Received an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I wasn't really sure what to expect from this book despite seeing several reviews beforehand. Luckily that worked to my advantage because I ended up really loving this story! I found it to be a completely charming contemporary and I'm so glad it came my way.

Rebecca "Rebel" Blue is orphaned, living with her aunt, uncle, and perfect cousin, and expressing an negative attitude about everything in life. In detention, she collides with the perky Kennedy Green and both are instructed to create a bucket list. When Rebel hears about Kennedy's death the next day, she is inspired to try to complete Kennedy's bucket list, compiled of twenty do-good activities. As Rebel steps out of her comfort zone, she also makes connections healing damage with her surviving family and flirting with do-gooder Nate.

I found the book a bit slow at first to be quite honest, mostly because I was wondering how the bucket list was going to get entwined in Rebel's life. As the novel progressed and I saw how it was changing her life, I just started getting all these tingly feelings in my heart. It seemed so sweet to me and I got excited whenever Rebel managed to make something work, whether through sheer determination to complete that dang list (because Rebel is a woman of her word) or through listening to someone else and taking that valuable advice.

The romance is pretty cute though it won't be to everyone's taste. Nate is the all-around American golden boy, playing baseball, honors student, volunteers, involved in student government, etc. He doesn't bring the swoons like the bad boys of YA but he's actually the kind of guy I like in real life so of course I liked him here. He doesn't get as much page time or development as I'd like in a full blown romance but since this is more about Rebel's journey, I didn't mind that.

Another important element is Rebel's family life. Her mother died and her father was a one-night stand, leaving her to the care of her overbearing aunt, hands-off uncle, and competitive cousin. Or so it seems until this project forces Rebel to more closely examine and be grateful for these relationships. Finally she is able to see some positives and it really filled me with joy to see that recognition grow in her. Their relationship is not magically perfect but there are steps of progress made in a realistic fashion.

Overall: I really loved this book. I found it so heart-warming and felt like it really spoke to me at that moment. Really just a fantastic contemporary that reminds me why I love the genre so much. I look forward to checking out more of Coriell's writing like her debut Welcome, Caller, This is Chloe.

Cover: I think she kind of looks like Carly Rae Jepsen-does anyone else see this?

Other Opinions:
Candace's Book Blog
Mission to Read
Rather Be Reading
Readers in Wonderland 
The Book Babe's Reads

A Soldier's Secret

A Soldier's Secret by Marissa Moss
3.5/5 stars
Abrams, 2012
387 pages
YA Historical

Source: Received an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I requested this book because I love the history of the American Civil War and I was not familiar with any stories about women disguising themselves as men in order to serve as soldiers although I knew that it had happened.

In this case, we have a novelized version of the story of Sarah Emma Edmonds, undercover as Frank Thompson from even before the war. She fled an abusive father and forced marriage in Canada, exchanging petticoats and corsets for the freedom of pants and lived as a traveling salesman before managing to enlist in the Army of the Potomac. Her story is unique in several ways: most of the other women who enlisted were following husbands or fiancees, giving them a person to confide in-Sarah did not have that. She also served not just as a soldier but also as a nurse, aide, and spy. Thirdly was the time spent as a man before serving-most of the others took up the disguise only upon war breaking out.

These three unique factors along with Sarah's remarkable bravery and patriotism help her stand out. This book takes her story, drawing heavily from her memoir to weave a new narrative for today's audience, incorporating contemporary pictures.

I love the idea behind this as well as the setting. Some of the most exciting moments were when Frank went undercover as a spy as well as seeing her craftiness in tight spots. There are some lags as the army sits around under various vacillating generals, true to the spirit. I had some trouble following the month/year although certain battles serve as touchstones for me. I am more familiar with the end of the war so to get to read more about the beginning was good for me.

But I had a lot of trouble connecting with Sarah/Frank, mainly due to her disguise and her conflicting feelings about gender. She's happy not to have the constraints of a woman's costume but she also falls for a fellow soldier, putting him in a tight spot. She also strongly stereotypes other women as dumb and boring, which surely some are but surely others had the same capacity to do cool things as Sarah if not possessing the nerve and motivation to actually do them. I guess I struggled with the mostly negative way she thought about womanhood as I am someone who has always felt very comfortable being female.

Overall: A cool, little-told story-how many fantasies have you read where the girl masquerades as a boy? And here we have one grounded in historical fact-it can be done! But drags a little and I had trouble connecting with the MC.

Cover: I think this cover is really well-done-I love the mix of masculine top with skirt bottom.

Shine

Shine by Lauren Myracle
Abrams, 2011
350 pages
YA; Contemporary
4.5/5 stars

Source: Received a free e-galley via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I had read at least one of Myracle's TTYL series and was thus familiar with what I thought was her style.  Then I read this AMAZING review by Lauren's Crammed Bookshelf, which alerted me that I would be getting something else entirely.

This story opens on the news that Patrick, a gay teenager, has been brutally assaulted and is in a coma with little optimism about his future condition.  The story then shifts to Cat, formerly best friends with Patrick but withdrawn since an incident three years earlier.  Of course she is still devastated by the treatment of Patrick and begins investigating who would have committed such a heinous act.  Her immediate thoughts are a gang of toughs including her brother Christian (who she easily absolves), Tommy (her bane), Beef (the nice guy), and Dupree (druggie).  Although Patrick ran with their crowd, they never fully accepted him; although those were her prime suspects, there were options aplenty.

Surprisingly for me, I fingered the perpetrator much earlier than Cat did but that's also partly because the book unfolded at a pretty leisurely pace, as descriptions of the landscape and characters as well as flashbacks are tantalizingly revealed.  She was blinded by her memory while I looked beyond to the darker side.

Besides Cat's investigation, there is a lot going on in this novel.  Cat and her brother have had a fractured relationship that is somewhat repaired through the book.  She also becomes a stronger person, recovering from the incident that had caused her to cut everyone out of her life.  Cat gets a love interest in, what was to me, a pretty uninteresting side story with a blah guy. And I read about one of the most annoying characters ever, Robert (seriously-pretty much no one in the book could tolerate him either).

The setting is a rural town, somewhat reminding me of Winter's Bone and Justified's environments especially when the meth cooking and addictions were added in.  Additionally because of the setting there was a great sense of isolation.  Unlike many 16 year-olds in contemporary books, Cat does not have a cell phone and must rely on either a landline or traveling by bike.  Guns also play a big part in the final denouement, which strikes me as very accurate for the setting.

Language: A lot of four letter f-words as well as the six letter derogatory f-word for a gay person-fitting for the context but still shocking for me to read.

Overall: A gripping story of the ties in a small-town led by a heroine who gains strength and purpose.

Cover:  I feel like the cover suggests a happier story but amidst the darkness there is light and beauty so I guess it works.