Review: The Boy Recession by Flynn Meaney

The Boy Recession by Flynn Meaney
Pages: 247
Published: August 7th, 2012
Publisher: Poppy
My Source: ARC

My Review:

The Boy Recession was a look into a high school that is suffering a shortage of testosterone. Because of budget cuts, many of the athletic guys have left for other schools. This book is told in an alternating POV, Kelly, a sweet girl, and Hunter, a complete slacker.

I'm starting off with the characters. Kelly was my favorite. She was a refreshing female character, and I could 100% relate to all the things she said. Hunter on the other hand, I seriously disliked reading his chapters. I think this happens a lot when a female writer writes from a male POV. It just comes out unrealistic. More than once, Hunter was upset that he'd made out with a girl named Diva, so he complained about how SHE was following him around and not leaving him alone. Am I the only one who sees the messed-up logic?? Hunter is the main reason two stars are knocked off, and I probably would have liked him if I didn't have to read his POV. On the other hand, I loved Eugene (who was supposed to be the slimeball.)

"Don't hate on Scott Disick," Eugene warns me. "He's my fashion role model."

(From ARC, has not been checked against final copy.)

Lines like that made up for Hunter! I also liked Kelly's friends, Aviva and Darcy. The plot was creative, and I've never read another book like it. I also enjoyed Johann, a minor character that needed more time in the spotlight!

I'd love to read a sequel or companion of Aviva at engineering camp! :D (The GIRL Recession?)
So I recommend this if you don't mind reading Hunter's POV, and the things that annoyed me. It's a good book all-in-all. 

        

Summer Reading Challenge!

Me last summer!

This challenge is being hosted by Kate! I think it's an awesome idea, and I'm going to try to do it. *cross my fingers*  There are ten categories for this challenge to complete before summer is over. Here they are: (and my choices!)

1. One Book Recommended By A Friend. Room by Emily Donoghue (For you, Kim!)

2. One Book That Has Been Sitting On Your Shelf For Over A Year. Sweet 16 by Kate Brian

3. One Book You Read A Long Time Ago And Don't Remember. Love in the Corner Pocket by Marlene Perez

4. One Book From Your To Be Read List. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

5. One Book You've Never Heard Of. The Rules of Survival by Nancy Welin

6. One Classic. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

7. One Book You Started But Never Finished. Blacklands by Belinda Bauer

8. One New Release. The Land of Stories by Chris Colfer *EEE!!*

9. One Book That Is Outside of Your Typical Genre. The Harlot by Saskia Walker

10. One Chunkster (A Book That Is Over 400 Pages). City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

I'll mark the finished challenges in red, once I start! (:

Cover Reveal! Mind Games by Kiersten White

Kiersten White is the author of the Paranormalcy trilogy, which ends this July. :/ But, today she released cover of her 2013-release book, Mind Games!!

It's gorgeous, don't you think? If you haven't checked out her blog post, you can read it here! Here is the slim (if you enlarge the photo on Kiersten's blog, you can see a longer snippet) summary of Mind Games:

In a world where psychics and mind-readers are the ultimate tools in corporate espionage, two teen girls try to save themselves and their future.

This book will be released February 19th, 2013! 

Review: Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
Pages: 338
Released: September 29th, 2011
Publisher: Dutton Books

My Review:
There are so many things I loved about this book, I think I'll just list them and skip doing a formal review:

-Lola has two dads, YES! Thank you for including that! It's just an unapproached topic in YA, and Andy and Nathan were one of the best additions to this book.
-The crazy-awesome descriptions of Lola's clothes.
-Anna and Étienne are back! YAY!
-Cricket in general. He definitely equals Étienne, I could never choose between them.
-Calliope's ice skating career.
-Lindsay & her Nancy Drew collection.
-Castro neighborhood!

I guess the star is off mostly because the scenery didn't have that sparkle that AaTFK had. Not much can beat Paris though.
This book is just as amazing as AaTFK, I recommend picking it up right now if you haven't already! :)  (I realize now that I waited a pretty long time..)        

In My Mailbox #8

In My Mailbox is a weekly event hosted by the Story Siren! It's an opportunity to showcase what books you have purchased, borrowed from the library, etc throughout the week.

Here's what I got:

From a local book store, I bought:

Lies by Michael Grant (Gone #3)

The Ivy by Lauren Kunze with Rina Onur

and Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver (Recommended to me by a youtube subscriber!)

I got this ARC for review,

The Boy Recession by Flynn Meaney

What did you get this week?

Review: Velveteen by Daniel Marks

Velveteen by Daniel Marks
Pages: 464
Release: October 9th, 2012
Publisher: Random House Childrens' Books
My Source: ARC

My Review:

This book was about a teen girl named Velveteen, who was murdered by a serial killer. She ends up in Purgatory, the place where souls go that's in between Heaven and Hell (it's a Catholic belief.) Velvet takes out her anger by haunting the serial killer, Bonesaw, and working at her job in Purgatory. But Purgatory is crumbling, and some rebels called the 'Departurisits' are making ripples in the normally peaceful place.

So, with this book, I had more issues than likes. I'll just dive right into them. Basically, most of it dealt with the character development (or lack of) and also the way that all of them acted out of character. Velvet is a cold soul, and pretty bitchy. I get that, because of all the anger stemming from her death. But within the first few chapters she's acting like a loving sister to one of the other characters. She's supposed to be a bitchy character, and get nicer throughout the course of the book, right? That's not how it went down. Also, her and her coworker, Nick, were not a good couple. They weren't developed enough in the first place to even get a romance going. They referred to each other as 'dude' constantly, which I don't even understand. I haven't heard someone say 'dude' in years. And then they made jokes at the WORST times. Spilling someone's ashes? LOL dude. No, just stop that.

I didn't like any of the characters to begin with, and I couldn't root for them as a couple either. The book dragged through the middle, and I almost abandoned it several times. The biggest thing besides the characters was the fact that there was not enough description. With almost everything! It improved by the end of the book, but I was getting lost constantly. I'd have to reread pages just to understand where Velvet was.
Other than that, which did count a lot, the premise and plot was amazingly creative. I've never read a book that takes place in Purgatory before. Every little aspect of the plot was extremely creative: I loved how souls 'dimmed' when it was their time to move on, and how Velvet's job was to be a body thief. If the book had better characters, I'm sure my rating would be up in four or five stars.

I may read the next book in the series, but I won't be buying it. If you are a big fan of the creativity of the plot, then go ahead and read this book. But if the things I listed, like annoying characters, bother you--don't waste your time!

In My Mailbox #7

In My Mailbox is a weekly event hosted by the Story Siren! It's an opportunity to showcase what books you have purchased, borrowed from the library, etc throughout the week.

Here's what I got!
I got these three ARCs at the Teen Book Club event that I mentioned in some earlier posts. I finished Starling a few days ago, and it was SO good!

Eve & Adam by Micheal Grant and Katherine Applegate

The Other Normals by Ned Vizzini

Starling by Lesley Livingston