Awaken

Awaken by Meg Cabot
3.5/5 stars
Point, 2013
346 pages
YA Greek Mythology Paranormal

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

Meg Cabot has long been one of my favorite authors and as a prolific writer, she's also at the top of my list for most read. Saying that, this series hasn't really done it for me. Though I dutifully read Abandon and Underworld, something seemed to be missing. When I had the chance to read Awaken, I was hoping to rediscover that Cabot magic while also checking off another series as finished.

And to my surprise, I actually really ended enjoying this book. Though there were times when Cabot's signature style annoyed me, I loved it when I was a teenager but now it no longer seems fresh and surprising, I was pretty swept away. The most enjoyable part was generally how take charge Pierce is. I read a comment somewhere about how previously John saved Pierce but now the cover shows a reversal with her saving him and I really like the strong female doing that while also retaining a sense of humor in the face of seemingly impossible odds.

It is difficult to review the third book in a trilogy without spoilers but I'm not going to go too in depth here other to say that I believe all the major players continue to be her with a few new introductions and the questions that have been posed throughout are addressed. Previously I remember not really enjoying the Pierce/John romance but I feel like that was toned down in this book and subsequently became more palatable. Pierce's parents also play a rather significant role in the plot, reminding me why I enjoyed them in the first place.

Overall: A satisfactory conclusion to the series-personally I think it ended up being my favorite although I'd have to carve out the time to read them all back to back to take a strong stance on the issue.

Cover: I do really love this cover-I think it's my favorite as it just seems very romantic to me with the purple rather than the color palettes of the previous covers.

Other Opinions:
Books Live Forever
Ems reviews books...
Forever Young Adult
The Teen Book Guru
The Best Books Ever

Forevermore

Forevermore by Cindy Miles
2/5 stars
Point, 2013
279 pages
YA Paranormal Contemporary

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

*Slightly spoilery*

Of all the kinds of paranormal stories out there, ghost and witches tend to be my favorites so when I realized that this was a new addition to the former category, I was pleased and requested it to read. As the time grew near to read and review this, I was also pleased to see its short length, hoping to read it quickly.

I was correct in that it read very fast...unfortunately it didn't really please the part of me that loves ghost stories (and yes, has a soft spot for human/ghost love stories). Overall I found it very bland with nothing speaking to me except for slight confusion over something that I'll discuss in a second that may be considered a spoiler.

The plot for this is that Ivy and her mother are moving to Scotland to live in a castle with Ivy's new stepfather and his grandmother. Upon arrival, the grandmother takes an instant dislike to Ivy and the girl's violin floats in mid-air. Other occurrences and talking with new friend Emma confirm for Ivy that there's a ghost, who graciously reveals himself to her as Logan Munro. But he's not the only ghost around as another malevolent spirit seems to be threatening Ivy's safety-can she solve this puzzle?

As I wrote above, I found this book pretty bland though it had many elements I like. For example, Ivy plays violin which spoke to my viola-playing heart. Scotland is the beautiful setting with many examples of Gaelic to enhance the authenticity. And there's the ghost. But all together, this book did nothing for me. It was easy enough to read and not too infuriating except for the part below.

Okay, this is the spoiler part. So what I found confusing is that after a storm the grandmother has an abrupt personality change and yet no one does anything for 30 years. Her grandson doesn't even seem to have noticed! I just thought that was rather a long period of time and I feel sad for how long she made people miserable with no one daring to say anything.

Overall: I have linked to some reviews below of people who enjoyed the book but for me, this was very unsatisfying.

Cover: Love the accuracy-Ivy is blond and has a pink streak! I didn't see the pink here at first because I was looking at a thumbnail on my nook but now that I look more closely, I am very impressed with how this captures the story.

Other Opinions:
Bookdictive Reviews
In Bed With Books
Just Another Rabid Reader
Small Review
The Book Monsters

Revenge of the Girl With the Great Personality

Personal Note: I joined my work's softball team, which had its first game last night (we won and I scored a run!) Consequently I am super behind on commenting but will be checking out what was posted on my blog as well as on all of yours tonight and over the weekend.

Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality by Elizabeth Eulberg
4/5 stars
Point, 2013
261 pages
YA Contemporary

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

I've read all of Eulberg's previous work and I feel like I really click with her writing style so I was thrilled to check this one out especially as I would certainly consider myself a girl with a great personality (ahem :)

Our main character is Lexi and she has long bemoaned the way that boys skip over her, recognizing that she's fun and funny but paying attention to the pretty girls. In an effort to encourage boldness in her friend, she is dared to give herself a style makeover, amping up her look and soon garnering that attention she's always desired. But does Lexi want a boyfriend who only likes her because of her looks? Adding to her situation is her younger sister's beauty pageant entries, which her mother insists they entirely rearrange their lives around and which is bankrupting the family.

So there are sort of two main stories here: Lexi's outer makeover (because her inner personality is fabulous!) and the family's involvement in pageants, with the two colliding and overlapping but which I wanted to address separately. The makeover storyline is pretty predictable with me calling most of the plot points far in advance (re: the boys) and feeling comforted when they did in fact come to pass.

The plot with her mother and sister was a bit more surprising to me. The younger sister Mackenzie initially seems to be a huge brat with the mother catering to their every whim (the parents are divorced with the father basically dropping his family) but as the story progresses, there are more nuances. Mackenzie doesn't seem to love pageants as much as she used to and the mother is seeking solace in the competitions that she can't find elsewhere. She is a bit on the villainous side (wait til you read what she does to Lexi!) but they do have some good confrontations that will hopefully lead to a better home life. When I read, I sometimes feel a little overprotective of characters and this was the case here, indicating to me that Lexi is a very sympathetic girl. I think a lot of readers will be able to empathize with at least part of her situation.

Overall: Another great entry from Eulberg, tackling some deeper issues in a smart and mostly humorous way.

Other Opinions:
Books Live Forever 
Candace's Book Blog
Heise Reads & Recommends
Rather Be Reading 

The Dead and Buried

The Dead and Buried by Kim Harrington
4/5 stars
Point, 2013
295 pages
YA Mystery Paranormal

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

I became interested in this after reading a couple of reviews (see below for links) touching on its mystery aspect. While I mostly read YA, when I venture out to adult books, it is usually for either romance or mystery. I just feel like YA doesn't have many good mysteries. I also adore ghost stories although the ones I read tend to be love stories. The malevolent ghost here is an anomaly in my reading habits.

In this story Jade and her family have recently moved to a new house with her younger brother mentioning that he sees a girl, something Jade brushes off as she prepares for school. In addition to the usual struggles a new kid faces, Jade is soon the object of gossip because she lives in the murder house. Yes, the girl her younger brother sees is a ghost, the former most popular girl at school, Kayla, was murdered in her own home and she will torment Jade's family unless Jade finds her murderer.

As I've mentioned before on the blog, I am not good at solving mysteries and this was no exception. I fingered the same person that Jade suspects but it turns out to be someone else. The murderer's reason makes perfect sense but I'm just not good at picking out who has something to gain or who has the opportunity until the characters have already figured it out for themselves. Anyway...

One of my favorite parts of Jade's character was her interest in gemstones, inherited from her mother. Every day she picks out a new piece of jewelry to complement her mood and to shed light on what's going to happen. Another part of Jade's personality is her deep love for her much younger brother. He's technically her half-brother, sharing a father, but she makes no distinction for him; I only bring it up because it does play a role in the subplot. I love sister-sister stories but lately I've read a few really cute sister-brother sisters including this one and I think I am willing to extend my love to all focuses on sibling relationships.

I feel like such a cranky reviewer about this one point. The students study Rebecca and the story has real-life parallels to Jade's feelings of insecurity in the face of Kayla's supreme popularity.  On the one hand, I wish that had been emphasized more. But if it had, I might have found it heavy-handed and like the author didn't trust me to understand them on my own. See why I feel cranky? But I also love the Rebecca parallel because it's a great book and my sister also loved that classic so I might suggest this read for her too.

Overall: A really fun, flowing mystery with the ghost adding a great deal of tension.

Cover: It makes sense that there is a dead girl on the cover, capturing Kayla in her afterlife. Some jade green might have been a nice touch though.

Other Opinions:
Book Labyrinth
Books Live Forever
Jen Ryland/YA Romantics

Underworld

Underworld by Meg Cabot
3/5 stars
Point, 2012
318 pages
YA Paranormal Greek

Source: Picked up at library for review

Last year I read the first book in this trilogy Abandon and found it to be a more a return to form for Cabot after being disappointed with several of her books. Thus I thought I would be easily swept away by this sequel, no matter the other people who were disappointed.

Alas that was not to be. The book opens with Pierce in the Underworld with John Hayden, with the pair assuming the roles of Persephone and Hades in their famous myth. However I doubt Persephone has the neuroticisms of this typical Cabot character. Boy is Pierce a bundle of them and they're all so familiar to me as a long-time reader of Cabot. I honestly think that is my big problem. If I was coming at this with fresh eyes, I probably would have been charmed. But as it is, Pierce reminds me of other Cabot heroines I like more and thus I find her boring and frustrating.

Another problem is the constant miscommunication between the couple. Each hints at something and the other misunderstands and reacts based on that misunderstanding. I don't get why people can't just say things out in the open. The reader basically knows what is going on and, at least in my case, gets super frustrated with the annoying people. Plus I'm not entirely sure when they became boyfriend/girlfriend, a term that seems a bit unsatisfactory when you consider that neither will be able to leave the Underworld for any extended period of time ever again. Pierce was debating whether to stay but then all of a sudden, she's committed. I just don't see when that happened.

Saying that, there were some cool secondary characters in the Underworld who have known John for ages and who added a lot of color to the story. This is also good as most of the characters I liked in the first book only make brief appearances here. I also liked getting to know some more about John's duties and how he got to that point. But the interplay between the main couple and actually almost everything involving Pierce drove me bonkers.

Overall: A lot of talking without necessarily a lot of understanding, ending with a cliffhanger.

Cover: I do quite like this cover; I read a bit about how it was made and thought that was so cool. I also love the dark blue/purple colors.

Take a Bow

Take a Bow by Elizabeth Eulberg
3.5/5 stars
Point, 2012
278 pages
YA Contemporary Performing Arts

Source: Library

After loving The Lonely Hearts Club and Prom & Prejudice, I knew I would be reading Eulberg's next book. Then I saw a ton of positive reviews of this, which got me even more excited! Unfortunately while there were some things I liked, there was something that really annoyed me (coughethancough).

Let's start with what attracted me to this book besides previous experience with the author's writing. The setting is a performing arts high school, a personal favorite setting of mine. I love reading about all of these kids with tremendous talent and potential and this was no exception. The scenes where the kids were practicing or performing were among my favorite. I also liked reading about the competition and nerves behind the scenes even though it caused me anxiety; it was a pressure cooker situation.

Then we have the characters. By far, my favorite was Carter, former child-star who still has his fans but is longing to leave acting. As he rethinks his life and makes big choices, he retained a down-to-earth sweetness that made his perspective very enjoyable. Next up is Sophie, the aspiring star who sings. Ever since she was a child, Sophie has been driven, keeping an eye out for her big break that will launch her to stardom. But life at school has been hard for Sophie. Although she has managed to date Carter for two years, she sees herself increasingly not getting the roles she thinks she deserves. To Sophie, this pushes her harder; to the reader, we see her stabbing people in the back and trampling anyone she finds in her way. She is not nice and I know a lot of other reviewers have not liked her. But I felt really bad for Sophie, seeing her pain at her ambitions going unfulfilled but without the maturity to examine herself critically.

The other two characters also need some help, in my opinion. Ethan is a self-sabotaging idiot. For the past few years, he was involved in a destructive cycle of cheating on his girlfriend, writing heartbreaking songs to win her back, and on and on. This was exacerbated by his drinking problem and his unresolved feelings for his best friend Emme. Honestly-I hated Ethan. I cannot handle the self-destruction in his character and I did not see him redeeming himself. I am also worried that his drinking problem was basically tossed aside and ignored; I would have loved some resolution there.

Emme is a much more palatable character but her soft spot for Ethan made me lower my opinion of her. Emme is basically the main character with important relationships with all three of the other characters and she undergoes the biggest transformation from shy wallflower to singer, songwriter, and face-melting guitarist. If she could have held strong to her conviction to not involve herself with Ethan, preserving merely a friendship with him, I would have liked her a lot more. But since she lowered herself, I end with disappointment.

I was also disappointed with the writing. By that I mean, it felt very different from the other two books I've read. Whereas I felt very clearly that they came from the same writer, this seemed like a radical departure and it was not one I liked. And the four perspectives and the short length (not even 300 pages) really impaired my ability to connect with any of the characters.

So I think I would sum up my problems with this book as 1. Too many characters for the length, leading to superficiality on some parts and 2. Deep hatred for the handling of the Ethan character.

Overall: I love swirly scripts for titles and choosing to show Emme was a wise decision.

The Lonely Hearts Club

The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg
Point, 2010
285 pages
YA; Contemporary
4/5 stars

Source: Library

After reading Prom and Prejudice earlier this year, I knew I'd want to check out Eulberg's debut work, hoping for another delightful funny book. I received that, including several scenes where I literally laughed out loud, earning myself some "you're crazy" looks from my sister. What to the evs!

Penny Lane Bloom (yes her parents are Beatles fanatics...and I do mean fanatics. They became vegetarians, not for any moral reasons but because Paul McCartney is a vegetarian) has just had her heart broken by a long-time crush and has decided to swear off boys for the rest of her high-school career. They are just jerks who cause girls to change themselves and dump their friends in order to secure their approval.  Now while Penny may go a bit far in the original manifesto, she has a valid point. A lot of high school boys suck (at least in my personal experience) so why not focus on having fun with your friends and figuring out who you are during those pivotal years?  Thus she becomes the founding (and for a time sole) member of The Lonely Hearts Club, committed to staying single in high school and rocking out to the music of four guys who will never let her down.

Needless to say, this ends up being very popular with the female students at Penny's high school who band together to support each other as one tries out for basketball while another seeks treatment for anorexia.  They focus on friendship and being there for each other. Of course it gets complicated when some of the male students are upset by the loss of their girlfriends and even the principal tries to intervene as well as when a guy who might actually be nice seems to like Penny and she returns the feelings.

Now there weren't any real surprises in this book as it's fairly obvious who Penny's love interest will be and I felt that some of the boy characters were treated much too harshly.  Additionally because of the number of girls involved in The Lonely Hearts Club, some of them don't have much personality nor do they receive enough attention.  But I loved their burgeoning feminism and passion for the idea as well as their ability to soften some of their stances in order to give the reader a happy ending.

Overall: A cute, funny, fast contemporary read!

Cover: I love the feminine take on the famous Abbey Road album cover.

Abandon

Abandon by Meg Cabot
Point, 2011
307 pages
YA; Supernatural; Greek Myth
4/5 stars

Source: Received a free ARC through Amazon's Vine program.

I didn't have very high expectations for this as I've been disappointed by Cabot's recent work despite loving a lot of her earlier work.  Additionally I had heard mixed things about the mythology as it differs from the traditional Greek myth of Hades and Persephone.

And while I had some problems, I mostly enjoyed this book; partly because main character Pierce Oliviera is a genuinely caring person whose best attempts frequently result in disaster.  She's curious and brave and hurting in so many ways.  The title is very appropriate because in many ways she's been abandoned as have many of the other characters.

Although they were not as well-defined as Pierce who narrates, the other characters intrigued me.  Of course there's John Hayden, the mysterious guy who always seems to pop up whenever Pierce gets into the most trouble. Then there's her cousin Alex, with an undefined grudge against the popular kids at school and his father Chris, who just got out of prison but also seems like a sweet and caring person.  I also mostly liked Pierce's parents.  Her mother wants to restore the ecosystems of Florida that have been largely destroyed by her father's company.  I certainly wouldn't trade my dad for hers (cause mine is super awesome) but he had some funny scenes and he seems to care about her in his limited way.

As to the story, there's a lot of flashbacks and confusion of time, which confused me although I think I have it sorted out now. And not a lot happened until a (very short) battle at the end.  There's a lot of Pierce puzzling through key incidents in her life to help her figure out her relationship with John in the context of Greek mythology and a lot of very enjoyable narration that I flew through as I read this all in one day.  But if you want kickbutt action, you won't find much of that here...hopefully in the second book Underworld.

Overall: An enjoyable twist on Greek mythology with some of Cabot's signatures; sets up some interesting paths for the rest of the trilogy.

Clarity

Clarity by Kim Harrington
Point, 2011
242 pages
YA; Paranormal; Mystery
3.5/5 stars

Source: Won from Katie at Sophistikatied Reviews

I didn't realize when I won this that it's a mystery, which is what appealed to me the most.  I had several theories and I was kind of right but I didn't quite piece everything together.  Clare does not either until the moment of confrontation.

Which is odd, as she possesses certain psychic powers as does the rest of her family.  Her mother can read minds, her brother Periwinkle, Perry for short, can speak to the dead, and Clare can capture memories from objects.  Together they have a business that is very appealing to the tourists who go through town.

When one of those tourists is killed, Clare is surprised but pleased to join in the investigation for a variety of reasons.  First, no one wants an unsolved murder in town.  Second, competition for her mother has arrived in town and she wants to prove that her family is not faking their powers.  Third, the new cop in town has a hot son hanging around.  And lastly, Clare starts to suspect that her brother may have had something to do with the murder and she desperately hopes that is not true.

I was not really a fan of the romance; surprise, there's sort of a love triangle.  Mysterious new guy Gabriel hates Clare's powers and thus hates one of the defining characteristics about her; this does not stop her from crushing on him nor does it stop him from kissing her.  Her other love interest is ex-boyfriend Justin, who may have gotten a bad rap.  It seems that he was at a party, got drunk, and slept with another girl but I think it might have been rape because the girl may have been fully sober and aware of what she was doing while he was past the point of consent.  However Clare finds herself unable to forgive him (at least at this point).  This could very well be a series so there's plenty of space for development.  In fact there are many places where more could be elaborated and if this does become a series, I hope to see more depth added.

Overall: Cool mystery and heroine; hated the romance.

Read for YA Debut Author Challenge.

Prom and Prejudice

Prom and Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg
Point, 2011
227 pages
YA; Contemporary; Austen
4.5/5 stars

Source: Received an ARC via Amazon Vine in exchange for an honest review.

This book is pretty much exactly what you would think it is based on the cover and title: a YA contemporary romance inspired by Jane Austen's beloved novel Pride and Prejudice (aka my favorite book!) This one stars Lizzie Bennet and her best friend Jane Netherfield as they navigate the tricky social scene culminating in prom at their boarding school Longbourn and their relationships with Will Darcy and Charles Bingley at the neighboring Pemberley Academy.

Although largely faithful to the novel and bringing its own sense of humor (there were many laugh out loud passages), there were some changes that I simply have to mention!

First it's told from Lizzie's point of view instead of third person like the original.  I have found this very common in YA lit and I think it helps you sympathize with the character much faster.  Second I found Lydia much more grating in this novel than I ever have in P&P; girl was so annoying!  Another change was that Darcy's family is actually accepting of Lizzie although a de Bourgh does still attempt to interfere.

Probably the most important change, in my mind, is that no longer is Lizzie seeking a mate for life and in order to protect her upon the death of her father; instead the big event is prom, which while important to the characters is hardly the same situation.  This takes away some of the dramatic tension that has made P&P so beloved. I understand though because it's hard to modernize P&P.

One change I did not entirely like was a very unsubtle emphasis on the snobbery of the girls at Longbourn in their relations with scholarship student Lizzie.  It was repeated so many times and I didn't think it needed to be hammered home so much.  That would be my only complaint about this book.

Overall: A quick modernization of P&P with an admirable Lizzie and many funny bits.

Cover: I love the bright pink and I feel that the dress conveys a plot point in the book but it's not entirely accurate.

Wherever Nina Lies

Wherever Nina Lies by Lynn Weingarten

Point, 2009

311 pages

YA; Contemporary

Rating: 3.5/5

Source: Won from Book-Lover Carol

Summary: Nina and Ellie were sisters but one day Nina disappeared. Ellie, of course, misses her sister and while others have given up, she still believes her sister is alive, out there somewhere. Then she meets Sean who is uber-supportive and they set off to find where Nina might be.

Thoughts: I was interested in this book because of the sister relationship. I like to think that my sister and I have a pretty good relationship and that she would be devastated were I to disappear as Nina does in this book.

Now I'm not really sure how to write this review without spoilers so SPOILER WARNING ahead. Ellie has tried to move on with her life since Nina disappeared but she knows that her life is still empty. Then she finds a drawing done in Nina's distinctive style and decides to follow this clue to a party where she meets Sean. They hit it off and end up going off, following different clues on the path to Nina.

About three-quarters of the way through, there is a "twist." While Sean has seemed like a pretty nice guy up to that point, this is when it is revealed that he is actually crazy and is using Ellie in order to get to Nina. This happened really quickly although there were a few clues that something was wrong. And while I didn't figure out all of the details of the twist, once I read that there was one, I knew it would revolve around Sean.

I also was disappointed in the friendship that Ellie has with Amanda. I always want strong friendships in my books but Ellie and Amanda have a big falling-out over Sean and I'm not sure how they can move on from there although in the end, it seems like they have.

I did love the sisterly relationship. Ellie just knows that Nina is still alive and they manage to end up with an even stronger relationship at the end of the book despite their years of estrangement. I feel like it helped me understand my (younger) sister better as I'm sure I hurt her with my teenage callousness at times although I hope that we are building a stronger relationship now.

Note: There is quite a bit of language and sexual content in this book although I found it pretty easy to glide over.

Overall: I was enjoying it until the *twist* which seemed really sudden and the ending wrapped up too quickly, 3.5/5.

Cover: I like it-I like the cut-out letters and the pink that comes out. I'm not the biggest fan of covers with real people on them but since her face is mostly covered, I like it more.

Wish

Wish by Alexandra Bullen

Point, 2010

323 pages

YA; Contemporary; Fantastical elements

Source: The library

Summary: Olivia has just moved to San Francisco with her parents but without her twin sister Violet who died the previous summer. She receives a magical dress and wishes for her sister to return. While Violet is visible only to Olivia, her effect is visible throughout Olivia's life.

Thoughts: I think I'm decidedly on the fence for this book; I read it fairly quickly and I felt like I was enjoying it but I just finished it and I have basically nothing to say. Olivia is not an exciting character as she depended on her sister Violet for vibrancy. Her crush, Soren, has a stupid name and wasn't interesting. The concept was okay but I prefer either full realism or full fantasy instead of this mix.

I like the names Olivia and Violet for twins-I like that it has the same "o-l-i" in different orders.

Overall: 3.5/5.

Cover: I love the cover and I think the stars are beautiful and relevant to the story.

Here are some better reviews: Books, Movies, and Chinese Food, The Book Butterfly, Teens Read and Write

Pedantic Thought: The back cover asks "If you could have everything, what would you wish for?" I thought that sentences were not supposed to end with prepositions at. (That's a 30 Rock reference); I just feel like a book should follow those rules of grammar.