The S-Word

The S-Word by Chelsea Pitcher
3.5/5 stars
Gallery Books, 2013
307 pages
YA Contemporary

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

This book grabbed me with its provocative title and summary, promising a dark look into life at modern high schools. Although my high school experience was not ideal, at least I was never bullied and I had some genuinely good times. I'm always a bit baffled when I see stories featuring a peek at the dark side and consequently I find myself intrigued.

Angie is our main focus: the pretty popular girl whose best friend Lizzie hooked up with her boyfriend on prom night and subsequently committed suicide. But after her death, the words "Suicide Slut" appear scrawled over her locker...in her own handwriting leading Angie to investigate further into Lizzie's life and death and attempt to claim vengeance.

I don't think this book reads much like a YA (and I feel comfortable making this claim as someone who has read hundreds of YA books in the past few years) which makes sense because its imprint is not one that typically publishes books in the YA category. And it's not because the book is dark-I've read some dark books that I definitely felt fit comfortably within YA but something about this book just felt a little different and atypical.

As for the story itself, I found it pretty uneven. I felt like the tone kept shifting. For example, in an early scene Angie is trying to gain information from an actress student she suspects, Angie assumes an old-school gumshoe investigation attitude. But at other times, it shifted to almost paranormal (which is what I thought was how the twist would unfold.) And it took on other tones too. As the book progressed, I thought it tightened though and everything started to come together.

I didn't feel much connection to the characters as you might have guessed from the fact that I didn't start off by mentioning them although I sure felt for Lizzie who got a really raw hand from life. There is also a guy named Jesse who was fun, complex, and complicated-I enjoyed getting to know him more. Angie was actually pretty awful in some sections of this book although I think I felt more indifferent to her rather than disliking her.

Overall: Not your usual YA read but it might be worth checking out if you have time in your reading schedule.

Other Opinions:
Rather Be Reading
Reading Teen
Writer Quirk

ARC Review: Summerset Abbey

Summerset Abbey by TJ Brown
3.5/5 stars
Gallery Books, 2013
292 pages
Adult Historical Fiction
Scheduled for release January 15

Source: Received an e-ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Although technically an adult book, I think YA bloggers may be interested in it, appreciating that it is a clean read.  That plus the fact that I'm a sucker for historical fiction, especially those whose summary hints at parallels to "Downton Abbey," which I felt this book's did, were the main reasons I wanted to read this. I also love the presence of a sisters relationship, a theme for which I have a soft spot. Additionally I loved the cover with its pretty dress. So I entered this book with high expectations. But being kind of a weirdo, I had a mixed experience.

There are three main characters: Rowena, Victoria, and Prudence. Although Prudence is the daughter of the first two girls' governess, she has been included as part of the family by the father. After his untimely death though, the two daughters are warmly welcomed into their ancestral home at Summerset Abbey while Prudence is relegated to the role of lady's maid. Both of the daughters are upset that Prudence is being separated but Rowena mostly passively accepts the distinction while the delicate Victoria rages against the slight. Thereby Victoria and Prudence are established as the more sympathetic characters with Rowena frequently shown as incapable and mostly unwilling of doing anything to change their circumstances.

As the establishing book in the series, I felt like a lot of plot threads were introduced but none were really dealt with. Rowena develops an interest in flight as well as in a neighbor boy while Victoria toils to learn typing in addition to juggling her own flirtation. Prudence's story moves the most as she learns a shocking family secret and entertains two gentlemen friends (okay, it doesn't go that far but she has two men express interest in her). There are also cousins of similar age who are bristling against the constraints of Edwardian tradition (just wait for the Great War boys!) But I found them all so boring.

Honestly my favorite character was Lady Summerset (aunt to Rowena and Victoria) with her iron will. However I don't think you were supposed to like her as she schemes against Prudence, planning to put her in her place. Since I didn't care for Prudence but I like strong characters, Lady Summerset was awesome.  The three main characters suffer as women in a man's world but Lady Summerset suffered in her own way. She carefully manages her household and would certainly be a force to be reckoned with if she was allowed into politics or business; instead she observes and she arranges through her husband as best she can. I wanted more of her (I guess she kind of reminded me of Lady Violet in Downton Abbey :)

Because I found the three leads so dull, I struggled with this book. Still if reviews suggest that the second book picks up steam (perhaps the urgency of war will illuminate it? Not sure if we'll be at the brink of war yet), I would be interested in continuing.

Other Opinions:
Confessions of an Opinionated Book Geek: 3.5/5 stars
Katie's Book Blog: 4/5 stars
One Page at a Time: 4/5 stars
Sweet Tidbits: 2.5/5 stars

The Runaway Princess

The Runaway Princess by Hester Browne
4/5 stars
Gallery Books, 2012
431 pages
Adult Chick-Lit Romance

Source: Received an e-ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This book caught my attention because of the titile. Additionally the author's name seemed vaguely familiar. After some checking, I confirmed that she had written the Little Lady series that I had enjoyed so much, which made me all the more excited for this book. Beloved author plus royalty romance plot? That sounds like an automatic win!

And for the most part, this book met or exceeded my expectations. I wasn't sure how main character gardener Amy Wilde was going to meet her literal prince but it was very cute and the beginning of their romance was so sweet. Amy is such an awkward young lady and I could really empathize with her shyness in social settings. I loved her best friend/roommate Jo, an amazingly gregarious fun lady who supports Amy through everything. Of course I also loved the prince, Leo, who Amy meets without realizing just how wealthy and connected he is. Because she doesn't know, she can almost relax and share her fun personality; then she does discover the truth and she freaks out but she still keeps falling for him. But they move forward in their romance, something that hits speed bumps as he ends up closer to the throne and her family's tangled past and qualms about his tendency to throw money at problems.

That last point is something that I did not feel was sufficiently resolved even as Amy and Leo do commit to each other. She is very uncomfortable with that aspect of his world and I never thought that they had it out about her feelings. They do work through some other issues and I am satisfied enough with them as a couple to be fine with the conclusion.

Takeaway Points:
1. Cute characters with a lot of sweet moments
2. Fast resolution with not everything resolved to my satisfaction (such as money issues)
3. If this sounds like your kind of read, it probably is :)

Cover: Not my favorite-I mean, I love the tiara but I'd like something a little more flashy with maybe a pretty dress.

Love Story

Love Story by Jennifer Echols
Gallery Books/MTV Books, 2011
243 pages
YA; Contemporary
3/5 stars

Source: Received a free egalley through Simon and Schuster's GalleyGrab program.

So conflicted! While I've loved Echols' writing for a while now, I've increasingly disliked the characters and plots of her books.  Forget You had the incredibly stupid Zoey and Love Story has Erin and Hunter, incredibly dysfunctional and manipulative people.

The book opens with an excerpt from Erin's creative writing story, which is a loosely fictionalized version of her life with herself cast as the heiress to a horse farm and Hunter as her hunky stable boy.  Then he actually shows up in her class and their backstory is revealed: Erin was supposed to inherit her grandmother's horse farm but she was disinherited for wanting to major in English rather than in business.  Instead Hunter gets everything: the farm, the money for college, everything that Erin had expected for herself.  She's understandably upset and spends about eight chapters hating on Hunter while still feeling attraction until she starts to soften.  This is a very quick change and I barely had time to warm up to Hunter because he continually does hurtful things.

Yes, Hunter's hot (seriously Echols can write steamy YA scenes like no one else I've read) but he's pretty cold, controlling, and extremely manipulative. And Erin herself was so hot and cold about him.  I think I could have been more sympathetic if the story were told in alternating perspectives between Erin and Hunter because then his side of the story would have been told and I probably wouldn't have found him so cold.  Because Erin was narrating, I like her more but I also thought she was pretty whiny and that she thought she knew way more about what everyone else was thinking than she actually did.

Besides the main characters, there are lots of fun classmates, notably Erin and Hunter's roommates, who I loved.  Summer, Jordis (don't know how to make the slash), Brian, and Manohar were not the focus but they added a lot of humor to the story.  I wonder if the story could have been stronger if we had actually met Erin's grandmother.  Erin sees her but never confronts her or talks to her after the disinheritance, leaving a bit of a gap in the understanding of Erin's life.

Overall: Yay on the writing, nay on Erin and Hunter.

Read for E-book challenge.

John Belushi Is Dead

John Belushi Is Dead by Kathy Charles
Gallery Books/MTV Books, 2009
309 pages
YA; Contemporary
3.5/5 stars

Source: Library

Read for YA Overlooked Book Battle.

Hilda and her best friend Benji share a unique fascination with the death of celebrities; whether it's memorabilia once owned by Janye Mansfield or the site of John Belushi's death, they want to see it.  As they live in LA and it's finally summer, they're at their leisure to explore everywhere.  But after barging into Hank's apartment to look at the bathroom where a silent film star killed himself, Hilda begins to rethink their life.  Benji, however, seems intent on moving even farther into the darkest places.

As you can probably tell, this is a pretty dark book filled with tidbits about the deaths of celebrities, apocryphal or not.  I was pretty disgusted with their behavior which is positively ghoulish much of the time.  Hilda is a good narrator, describing how she and Benji were drawn together by their shared fascination when younger.  Hilda has her own dark past due to the death of her parents while she survived.

I was more interested in Hank, the old man she befriends, who has dark secrets in his past and his neighbor Jake, a young screenwriter.  Meeting them and seeing Benji's journey into darkness is what helps Hilda learn more about herself and to begin to rethink her life path.  She doesn't have all of the answers by the end of the book but she's a little bit stronger.

I also enjoyed the references to old Hollywood such as when they view Sunset Boulevard (highly recommended) and Rear Window (not my fave but still good).  Due to my interest in classic movies, I recognized the actors and films mentioned although I realize many in my peer group probably wouldn't.  But most of the references are to 70s-90s singers and actors who died of drug overdoses; their tragedies attract Hilda and Benji's interest.

Overall: Although pretty well-written, the subject matter was too dark for me.

Content: Language; some drugs and sexual content.

Cover: I don't know about the outfit represented by Hilda has pink hair for most of the book so that's appropriate.

William and Kate

William and Kate: A Royal Love Story by Christopher Andersen
Gallery Books, 2010
301 pages
Non-fiction; Royalty
4/5 stars

Source: Library

I know, I know-another book about the young royal couple? What can I say-I'm excited!  And the wedding is getting so close now!  This is the best of them so far, in my opinion.

I thought it balanced the perceived audience desire to read more about Diana with about equal amounts of William and Kate's life; Kate, as always, gets talked about less.  She is shown as a woman patiently waiting for her Prince; her life is a backseat and attachment to his and thus his life is the focus.  But the love between them also is highly emphasized as can be seen by the subtitle.  Kate is praised for the way she has conducted herself throughout the entire affair, although the snipes at her "commonness" continue to bug me.

Oddly the parts that irked me the most involved Harry.  Andersen had a tendency to call Harry "The Spare" and recounted the idea that he is actually James Hewitt's son. And of course, their constant drinking and partying is mentioned.

Additionally there are two sections of pictures, most of which are familiar but a few were new to me.  Diehard royal fans will probably know all of them.