Review: The Perfectionist by Sara Shepard

Title: The Perfectionist 
Author: Sara Shepard
Pages:336
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pub Date: October 7th, 2014
Source: Edelweiss
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In Beacon Heights, Washington, five girls—Ava, Caitlin, Mackenzie, Julie, and Parker—know that you don’t have to be good to be perfect. At first the girls think they have nothing in common, until they realize that they all hate Nolan Hotchkiss, who’s done terrible things to each of them. They come up with the perfect way to kill him—a hypothetical murder, of course. It’s just a joke...until Nolan turns up dead, in exactly the way they planned. Only, they didn’t do it. And unless they find the real killer, their perfect lives will come crashing down around them. 

From Sara Shepard, author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Pretty Little Liars series, comes another story of dark secrets, shocking twists, and what happens when five beautiful girls will do anything to hide the ugly truth.

When I was in middle school, Pretty little liars was THE thing. Even the people who didn’t like reading started to read just so they could figure out what happened next. Around book 7 I finally gave up because it just got ridiculous. As soon as I found out that Sara Shepard had a new series, I got right up on that.

Its pretty much Pretty Little Liars but backwards, instead of waiting a few years before the girls got accused of murder, it happened immediately. These five unlikely friends have only one things in common: A Film Class. In this film class they get paired up and decide to talk about how they would kill the school bully/Mr.Popular, its all fun and games until he actually gets murdered. And they were the last ones to see him alive.

The biggest difference between the girls from PLL and the girls from Perfectionist is that they are not besties, and they don’t pretend to be either. There’s Mackenzie who has her own backstabbing best friend who are both competing for a seat in Julliard. Next is Parker and Julie who are joined together by an awful secret, both caused by Nolan Hotchkiss. Ava is the super sexy ethnic chick who has a great boyfriend and is artsy. Last is Claire who was a shallow soccer player, until her brothers sudden death.

Each different story was unique and intricate which I loved but couldn’t help but see the similarities between PLL. Near the end of the book we realize that its loosely based on a 1950's movies called And Then There Were None which is a much better story and I feel like more could have been done, and lets talk about Nolan Hotchkiss. Half the things he did were illegal, they were all petty misdemeanors but they still called for jail time I mean maybe instead of plotting to kill him or playing pranks on him you could’ve called the police.

In true Sarah Shepard fashion, the end of the book ends with more questions than we started with. Last thing that merits a mention is that there’s an Ezra type character with a bit of a twist.

Overall, great book for any PLL fans and just a fun middle school read.  

Review: Love and Other Unknown Variables by Shannon Lee Alexander

Title: Love and Other Unknown Variables 
Author: Shannon Lee Alexander
Pages: 350
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Pub Date: October 7th 2014
Source: Netgalley
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Charlie Hanson has a clear vision of his future. A senior at Brighton School of Mathematics and Science, he knows he’ll graduate, go to MIT, and inevitably discover solutions to the universe’s greatest unanswered questions. He’s that smart. But Charlie’s future blurs the moment he reaches out to touch the tattoo on a beautiful girl’s neck. 

The future has never seemed very kind to Charlotte Finch, so she’s counting on the present. She’s not impressed by the strange boy at the donut shop—until she learns he’s a student at Brighton where her sister has just taken a job as the English teacher. With her encouragement, Charlie orchestrates the most effective prank campaign in Brighton history. But, in doing so, he puts his own future in jeopardy. 

By the time he learns she's ill—and that the pranks were a way to distract Ms. Finch from Charlotte’s illness—Charlotte’s gravitational pull is too great to overcome. Soon he must choose between the familiar formulas he’s always relied on or the girl he’s falling for (at far more than 32 feet per second squared)

Review: Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld

Title: Afterworlds
Author: Scott Westerfeld
Pages: 608
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pub Date: September 23, 2014
Source: Edelweiss 
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Darcy Patel has put college and everything else on hold to publish her teen novel, Afterworlds. Arriving in New York with no apartment or friends she wonders whether she's made the right decision until she falls in with a crowd of other seasoned and fledgling writers who take her under their wings… 

Told in alternating chapters is Darcy's novel, a suspenseful thriller about Lizzie, a teen who slips into the 'Afterworld' to survive a terrorist attack. But the Afterworld is a place between the living and the dead and as Lizzie drifts between our world and that of the Afterworld, she discovers that many unsolved - and terrifying - stories need to be reconciled. And when a new threat resurfaces, Lizzie learns her special gifts may not be enough to protect those she loves and cares about most

The idea of writing an entire novel feels so foreign. The only thing I really know about the publishing process is from “Romancing the stone”  and tweets that authors make (especially Ally Carter).  So an entire novel that takes me through the writing process? Yes please!

It starts off with Darcy Patel getting her novel published, she’s freaking out, ditching college to move to New York. No one in her family has read her book, and she can barely believe its real, It only took her thirty days to write the entire novel.

Then starts chapter two, now all of a sudden she’s in an airport and there’s a terrorist attack. Wait. Not her… some girl named Lizzie? Who is she? And why has her story started? Then we go to chapter three and now we’re back with Darcy?

                                      

Apparently every other chapter would be a scene from Afterworlds, it’s a story inside of a story. I personally don’t like ghost stories. I’m a huge scaredy-cat and they just freak me out so I half-skimmed all the Afterworld chapters. Which means I didn’t get the whole “experience” but it was a cool idea.

As for Darcy’s story she frustrated me so much! She moves to New York on a budget and instead of following the budget she goes all crazy and buys an expensive loft and eats exotic ramen. I think I was more stressed about her budget than anything else. She was also so wishy-washy. She doubted herself nearly every other page. In the beginning it was okay but near the end even I didn’t believe in her anymore Another huge part was her friend Imogen. Not gonna lie there were a few unexpected parts there, but I think it made the whole story more unique.

Imogen Is also a writer who has been in the publishing world longer than Darcy has. She starts to show her the rope and helps her meet the right people. She’s also the first person to read Afterworlds and giver her feedback, other than her agent. Other characters that I really liked where Carla and Sagan. It was cute how they were these book nerds whose best friend is now this hot up and coming debut author.

Last positive thing about this story was the fact that we go to see Darcy’s dreams come true! She not only met her favorite authors but was able to get blurbed by them, which must be the dream

.

Overall it was a fun story about a debut author, a great story for any paranormal lovers

Review: Sway by Kat Spears

Title: Sway
Author: Kat Spears
Pages: 320 
Publisher: St. Martins Press
Pub Date: September 16th, 2014
Source: Netgalley
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High school senior Jesse Alderman, or Sway as he's known, could sell hell to a bishop.  He also specializes in getting things people want—term papers, a date with the prom queen, fake IDs.  It's all business with Jesse.  He has few close friends and he never lets emotions get in the way.

But when Ken, captain of the football team, leading candidate for homecoming king, and all around jerk, hires Jesse to help him win the heart of the angelic Bridget Smalley, Jesse finds himself feeling all sorts of things.  While following Bridget and learning the intimate details of her life, he falls helplessly in love for the very first time. He also finds himself in an accidental friendship with Bridget's younger brother who's belligerent and self-pitying after spending a lifetime dealing with cerebral palsy.  Suddenly Jesse is visiting old folks at nursing home in order to run into Bridget, and offering his time to help the less fortunate, all the while developing a bond with this young man who idolizes him.  The tinman really does have a heart after all. 

A Cyrano De Bergerac story with a modern twist, Sway is told from Jesse’s point of view with unapologetic truth and biting humor, his observations about the world around him untempered by empathy or compassion--until Bridget's presence in his life forces him to confront his quiet devastation over a life changing event a year earlier and maybe, just maybe, feel SOMEthing, again.

Review: Stronger Than You Know by Jolene Perry

Title: Stronger Than You Know
Author: Jolene Perry
Pages: 256
Publisher: Albert Whitman Teen
Pub Date: September 1st, 2014
Source: Netgalley
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After police intervention, fifteen-year-old Joy has finally escaped the trailer where she once lived with her mother and survived years of confinement and abuse. Now living with her aunt, uncle, and cousins in a comfortable house, she’s sure she’ll never belong. Wracked by panic attacks, afraid to talk to anyone at her new school, Joy’s got a whole list of reasons why she’s crazy. With immense courage, Joy finds friends and grows closer to her new family. But just when hope is taking hold, she learns she must testify in her mother’s trial. Can she face her old life without losing her way in the new one? Will she ever truly belong in a world that seems too normal to be real?

The Bridge from Me to You by Lisa Schroeder

Title: The Bridge from Me to You
Author: Lisa Schroeder
Pages: 336
Publisher: Point
Pub Date: July 29th, 2014
Source: Netgalley
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Lauren has a secret. Colby has a problem. But when they find each other, everything falls into place. 

Lauren is the new girl in town with a dark secret. Colby is the football hero with a dream of something more. In alternating chapters, they come together, fall apart, and build something stronger than either of them thought possible--something to truly believe in.

Torn Away by Jennifer Brown - Nemo

Title: Torn Away
Author: Jennifer Brown 
Pages: 288
Publisher: Little Brown Books
Pub Date: May 6th, 2014 
Source: Netgalley
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Jersey Cameron has always loved a good storm. Watching the clouds roll in and the wind pick up. Smelling the electricity in the air. Dancing barefoot in the rain. She lives in the Midwest, after all, where the weather is sure to keep you guessing. Jersey knows what to do when the tornado sirens sound. But she never could have prepared for this.

When her town is devastated by a tornado, Jersey loses everything. As she struggles to overcome her grief, she's sent to live with relatives she hardly knows-family who might as well be strangers. In an unfamiliar place, can Jersey discover that even on the darkest of days, there are some things no tornado can destroy?

In this powerful and poignant novel, acclaimed author Jennifer Brown delivers a story of love, loss, hope, and survival

On the Fence by Kasie West - Nemo

Title: On The Fence

Author: Kasie West

Pages: 320

Pub date: July 1, 2014

Publisher: HarperTeen

Source: Edelweiss

he's a tomboy. He's the boy next door…

Charlie Reynolds can outrun, outscore, and outwit every boy she knows. But when it comes to being a girl, Charlie doesn't know the first thing about anything. So when she starts working at a chichi boutique to pay off a speeding ticket, she finds herself in a strange new world. To cope with the stress of her new reality, Charlie takes to spending nights chatting with her neighbor Braden through the fence between their yards. As she grows to depend on their nightly Fence Chats, she realizes she's got a bigger problem than speeding tickets-she's falling for Braden. She knows what it means to go for the win, but if spilling her secret means losing him for good, the stakes just got too high.

Fun, original, and endearing, On the Fence is a romantic comedy about finding yourself and finding love where you least expect

The Revealed by Jessica Hickam - Nemo

Title: The Revealed
Author: Jessica Hickam
Pages: 314
Publisher: Spark Press
Pub Date: June 17th, 2014
Source: Netgalley
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Lily Atwood lives in what used to be called Washington, D.C. Her father is one of the most powerful men in the world, having been a vital part of rebuilding and reuniting humanity after the war that killed over five billion people. Now he’s running to be one of its leaders.

But in the rediscovered peace on Earth, a new enemy has risen. They call themselves the Revealed – a powerful underground organization that has been kidnapping 18 year olds across the globe without reservation. No one knows why they are kidnapping these teens, but it’s clear something is different about these people. They can set fires with a snap of their fingers and create a wind strong enough to barrel over a tree with a flick of their wrist. No one has been able to stop them, and they have targeted Lily as their next victim.

But Lily has waited too long to break free from her father’s shadow to let some rebel organization just ruin everything. Not without a fight.