Shooter | Book Review

Shooter

Written by: Caroline Pignat

Number of pages: 320

Average Rating: 4.09/5 stars

My Rating: 2/5 stars

Published: May 3, 2016

Read in September 2017

Summary According to Goodreads

A lockdown catches five grade 12 students by surprise and throws them together in the only unlocked room on that empty third floor wing: the boys’ washroom. They sit in silence, judging each other by what they see, by the stories they’ve heard over the years. Stuck here with them - could anything be worse?

There’s Alice: an introverted writer, trapped int he role of big sister to her older autistic brother, Noah. Isabelle: the popular, high-achieving, student council president, whose greatest performance is her everyday life. Hogan: an ex-football player with a troubled past and a hopeless future. Xander: that socially awkward guy hiding behind the camera, whose candid pictures of school life, especially those of Isabelle, have brought him more trouble than answers. 

Told in five unique voices through prose, poetry, text messages, journals, and homework assignments, each student reveals pieces of their true story as they wait for the drill to end. But this modern-day Breakfast Club takes a twist when Isabelle gets a text that changes everything: NOT A DRILL! Shooter in the school!

Suddenly, the bathroom doesn’t seem so safe anymore. Especially when they learn that one of them knows more about the shooter than they realized. 

My Thoughts

As many of you probably already know, I am fascinated by the psychology behind what leads people to commit crimes - specifically school shootings. Fewer of you may know that I had started writing my own novel, with the plot surrounding a shooting. I do rate these types of novels harder, because they are so personal in today’s society, but also because I know what I would do with it. 

Because of my strong interest, I have read many novels (both fiction and non-fiction) from this plot, and this might be one of the worst that I’ve read. It is portrayed as five students stuck in a bathroom during a lockdown, but instead of focusing on the shooter, it focuses on the lives of these people and how they’ve been wrongly judging them over the years. 

I didn’t like any of the characters, they were typical and flat, and were dealing with generic senior year problems. I feel like the author just thought of the four most generic types of high school students, and picked one from each group to build her cast: the popular one, the loner, the nerd, and the bad boy. Oh, and then added an autistic brother to make it more diverse. Each chapter rotated through being told in their perspectives, but a couple of times I would forget whose I was reading from and had to flip back to see. 

The plot was just as flat as the characters were, with the big reveal, being nothing special. There is random details thrown in from each of these kids, and it almost came across as “who can give the biggest sob story?” All of the dramatic stuff happened right at the end, and was over before the reader knew we were finally getting somewhere. I never once felt as though these students were afraid for their lives, and instead felt their boredom seeping off the pages. When I was in school I had done plenty of lockdowns, and even if you know it is a drill, it brings a certain anxiety with it but that was lacking in this novel.

So I can tell you exactly why I gave two stars: One star for being set in a Canadian school. One star for the different writing styles, that made it a lot easier to read and kept the plot going. This novel is set within an hour (and then a bit of the aftermath), so it is a fairly quick read because you want to know what is going to happen to these kids - as basic as they are. 

Overall, this was mediocre. This author has written many novels so I expected more out of her writing and plot development. I didn’t bring anything away from this story, and it will not be making an impact on me or my reading experiences in any way. I wish I had just picked it up from the library, and will be un-hauling it so someone else can hopefully enjoy it more than I did. If you are interested in school shooting novels, I would stay away from this one, or go into it with low expectations. 

Don't Look Back | Book Review

Don’t Look Back

Written by: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Number of pages: 369

Average Rating: 4.11/5 stars

My Rating: 5 stars

Published: April 14, 2014

Read in September 2017

Summary According to Goodreads

Samantha is a stranger in her own life. Until the night she disappeared with her best friend Cassie, everyone said Sam had it all - popularity, wealth, and a dream boyfriend.

Sam has resurfaced, but she has no recollection of who she was or what happened to her that night. As she tries to piece together her life from before, she realizes it’s one she no longer wants any part of. The old Sam took “mean girl” to a whole new level, and it’s clear she and Cassie were more like best enemies. Same is pretty sure that losing her memories is like winning the lottery. She’s getting a second chance at being a better daughter, sister, and friend, and she’s falling hard for Carson Ortiz, a boy who has always looked out for her - even if the old Sam treated him like trash.

But Cassie is still missing, and the truth about what happened to her that night isn’t just buried deep inside of Sam’s memory - someone else knows, someone who wants to make sure Sam stays quiet. All Sam wants is the truth, and if she can unlock her clouded memories of the fateful night, she can finally move on. But what if not remembering is the only thing keeping Sam alive?

My Thoughts

I have been eyeing this novel for a while, and have actually owned it since September of 2014. I figured three years was enough time for it to sit on my shelf, and decided to give it a read. And OH BOY what a read it was. 

This was not my first experience with Jennifer L. Armentrout, I read her new adult novel Wait for You, a couple years ago but I didn’t love it. Reading this makes me want to give that one another read, because her writing was so smooth and so easy to read. There was the perfect amount of suspense, the right amount of romance, and even some humour thrown in. 

I love thrillers, and this one did not disappoint. It was engaging from the very first page, and only increased its intensity from there. There were some plot points that were predictable, but I did not guess the ending at all. This novel was written so well, that readers can be so torn between who the suspect was and be kept on their toes until the very end. 

The characters were fairly well-developed considering they were high school students, but my two favourites were Scott (her brother), and Carson (our love interest). It was clear that our main character had strong support systems around her, but everyone had motive to hurt her or Cassie so she couldn’t put her complete trust in anyone. Samantha did make some naive decisions, but given her circumstances I think they were done with the best of intentions. 

This was a difficult novel for me to rate. I originally rated it four stars, but ended up bringing it up to a five. There were a couple of character faults I didn’t like, but they all ended up being justified through the plot. There was nothing I would have changed, nothing I would have liked to see - it was great. 

Overall, this novel has made it onto my favourites list, and I am already looking for another by this author to add to my shelf. This was a great one to kick off the fall weather, and I would recommend it with Halloween coming up!

Welcome Home | Book Review

Welcome Home

Edited by: Eric Smith
Number of pages: 350

My Overall Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Published: September 5, 2017
Read in September 2017


Summary According to Goodreads

Welcome Home collects a number of adoption-themed fictional short stories, and brings them together in one anthology from a diverse range of celebrated Young Adult authors.


My Thoughts 

I received an ebook copy of this book to review on behalf of NetGalley, but that does not affect my opinion. In fact, I loved it so much I purchased my own physical copy.

I need to be honest right off the bat: I do have a personal connection to adoption. Not myself, but a family friend adopted two young girls, and I was able to see how they became a family. I went into this novel knowing what an emotional journey and process adoption is, but this novel handled many aspects of it beautifully. 

I loved that each of these authors had their own connection to adoption and it's process, and it really reflected it all of their writing. Some were better done than others, but they all mostly came with a good lesson or insight. 

I was introduced to many authors I didn’t know of, but also others I have considered reading from. This was a great collection for YA readers that are interested in adoption stories. 

Since this was an anthology, I thought it would only be far to rate each story individually, and share any thoughts I had. You’ll find all stories listed below!

• Carlos and the Fifteen Year-Old Heart by Adi Alsaid: 3 stars

     - I hadn't read anything but this author before, even though I've been eyeing his works for a while. Enjoyed this one, but didn't connect to it as much as I would've liked to.

• Strong Enough by Karen Atkins: 4.5 stars

     - Why wasn't this longer?? I loved this so much, I could've read an entire novel about Gracie. I'm not one for superhero tales but I need more!

• The Sign by Erica M. Chapman: 3 stars

• Up a Million by Caela Carter: 5 stars

     - This was perfect. It was so simply short but packed so much emotion. In less than 10 pages I was able to connect to this mother-daughter pair, and understand their relationship. It was just so heartfelt and pure, I cried.

• Mama's Eyes by Libby Cudmore: 4 stars

     - Wow, this novel had all the feels. It was a great look into the harder sides of adoption, and the risks it could put children in. Just didn't care much for the way her dad handled things.

• A Kingdom Bright and Burning by Dave Connis: 4 stars

     - This is one that I sat and thought about after I finished reading it. There were so many hidden messages and symbolism woven in, that you just have to take a moment to appreciate it all.

• The Inexplicable Weight of Mountains by Helene Dunbar: 2 stars

• Webbed by Julie Esbaugh: 2 stars

• Life: Starring Tallulah Grey by Lauren Gibaldi: 3 stars

     - This was okay, I enjoyed the writing style but it felt unfinished in a couple of ways.

• Salvation by Shannon Gibney: 3 stars

• Twenty-Seven Days by Jenny Kaczorowski: 5 stars

• Ink Drips Black by Julie Leung: 3 stars

• Upon the Horizon's Verge by Sangru Mandanna: 5 stars

• Lullaby by Matthew Quinn Martin: 2 stars

• Census Man by Mindy McGinnis: 2.5 stars

• Invited by Lauren Morrill: 5 stars

• Empty Lens by Tameka Mullins: 3 stars

• A Lesson in Biology by Sammy Nickalls: 4 stars

• Tunneling Through by Shannon Parker: 4 stars

• These Broken Stars by C.J Redwine: 2 stars

• The Snow-Covered Sidewalk by Randy Ribay: 3 stars

• Deeply by William Ritter: 2 stars

• Meant to be Broken by Stephanie Scott: 3 stars

• Moving the Body by Natasha Sinel: 4 stars

• In Pieces by Eric Smith: 3 stars

• Peace of Paper by Courtney C. Stevens: 4 stars

• Happy Beginning by Nic Stone: 3.5 stars

• The Take Back by Kate Watson: 5 stars

     - I LOVED this one so much, that I read it twice. The characters were so rich and deep I wanted to cry with them. Such a good, well-rounded story that didn't feel like it was lacking, but instead showed so much room for more.

• Jar of Broken Wishes by Tristina Wright: 5 stars

Overall, I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would. I was so connected to characters that only had 10 pages, but was able to develop a whole new appreciation for adoption. It was so beautiful on so many levels, and I am so excited for there to be more adoption awareness. It is not an easy journey for anyone involved, so I appreciated that this novel was able to show all of the different sides. 

Dancing with Molly | Book Review

Dancing with Molly

Written by: Lena Horowitz

Number of pages: 235

Average Rating: 3.2/5 stars

My Rating: 2/5 stars

Published: June 2, 2015

Read in September 2017

Summary According to Goodreads

Before, I was never the life of the party. I was the reliable one. The one no one had to worry about. The one no one had to think about. I was the one that everyone could ignore. 

Until that night, when everything changed and I finally became someone.

Someone special. Someone noticeable. Someone Carson might actually care about, as much as I cared about him.

But the cost of being someone is more than anyone can imagine. For every moment, there's a price to pay. For every party. For every choice made. For every kiss. 

Ultimately, living a life of pure ecstasy might be no different from not living at all.

My Thoughts

As many of you know, I am a huge fan of realistic fiction stories that centre around drugs and/or alcohol. They are so relatable and usually provide and encourage messages to young readers, but I enjoy the psychology behind addiction so they are interesting reads for me. Not this one though. 

This novel is presented in a diary format, and I don’t believe we even know the characters first name. It is a very character based novel, however none of them were outstanding. Realistic, yes, but likeable, no. Let’s start with our main character, Miss Nameless Drama Queen. Even before she started using drugs, I didn’t like her personality. She is constantly talking about people’s looks, how she couldn’t see herself with a guy she’s known for like TEN YEARS, because he looks gross, and even refers to her friend as “a bigger girl” quite often. She is very self-centred but spent the novel complaining that her younger sister was all high and mighty. Reality check, girl: she probably learned it from you. My favourite character of all of them was probably Carson, and only because he wasn’t a complete drug-fueled asshole. I feel like he genuinely cared about our character and wanted to help her, but she was convinced she didn’t have a problem. And don’t even get me started on her parents. Someone needs to sit down and talk to them about what being “grounded” means. 

The plot was generic and typical, and didn’t have any twists or anything that I couldn’t call from a mile away. It obviously wasn’t written by a teenager, and instead seemed to try and hit every cliche to try and give it that idea. I think it is relatable and would be beneficial to a younger audience, just as an exposure to drug use and its effects. 

The ONLY reason that I couldn’t give this novel one star, is I didn't hate it. I understand it, it was a quick read, and I never considered giving up on it. So there must be something underlying there, but I don’t hate it. I won’t be reading it again or keeping it on my shelf, but I don’t regret picking it up. I found the ending to be rushed and would have preferred losing 50 pages in the middle for more emotion in the ending. 

I went into this novel with expectations that I would enjoy it, so I am quite disappointed. Overall, I would recommend this story to anyone looking for a teen-angsty story and is ready to sit though 200 pages of a main character believing she isn’t in the wrong. This isn’t a novel I had heard anything about before seeing it on the bargain shelf at Chapters, and I understand why. 

The Switch | Book Review

The Switch


Written by: A.W. Hill and Nathanael Hill
Number of pages: 282

My Rating: 3.5/5

Published: August 29th 2017
Read in August 2017


Summary According to Goodreads

Imagine that you could change your world with the flip of a switch. You might be prettier, more athletic, more popular, or even living on an exotic island, because your history - your world line - would be different. But here's the catch: you have no way of knowing if the reality on the other side of that switch will be better... or much worse. 

Jacobus Rose is a fifteen year-old who believes - as many fifteen year-olds do - that his life could use improvement. School is a numbing routine, and his parents' marriage seems to be imploding before his eyes. Lured by his best friend, Connor, into a strange little house containing nothing but empty rooms and an oversized circuit breaker, he'll discover that reality comes in a plural form, and that our choices create a continuous web of branching worlds, any of which is as "real" as another.


My Thoughts

I received an ebook copy of this novel to review from NetGalley, but that does not influence my opinion.

"I am writing this story for you, the misplaced teenagers of the world."

The plot of this novel grabbed my attention right away, as did the cover. It conveys the most important aspects of this novel, from the rustic typography, to the hand pulling the switch. This novel was unlike anything I have read before - and I have read a lot of books. There were plot twists that I didn't see coming, and ones that enhanced the overall climax of the story. Was the world completely developed? No, but it is young adult so I didn't have too high expectations. 

This was a very interesting sci-fi novel that brings readers on a journey with its characters crossing different worlds. However, I need to be honest - the characters in this novel did not meet my expectations. They are four fifteen year-olds who either acted twelve or twenty. The main characters, specifically Jacobus, were not as unique or developed as they could have been, and this really hindered my experience. We are reading about travelling between different worlds and alternate universes, but their personalities were much too flat. There were a few moments where I questioned bias and racism, but I think I might have just been looking into that too much.

I think I would have enjoyed this novel more if I had read it faster. It was nothing against the pacing of the story, just my own hectic schedule. Whenever I would pick up the book I was thrown back into the world very easily, and struggled to put it back down.

Overall, I enjoyed this novel but it will not go down as one of my favourites. I do not generally read a lot of sci-fi, so it was a good exposure to the genre for me. I would recommend this to readers a little bit younger than myself (probably best for teenagers), as it was very engaging and extremely unique! It was published yesterday, so make sure you check it out and let me know what you think!

"And it occurred to me...that nobody is ever just one thing: villain or hero, dirtbag or prince."

Attachments | Book Review

Attachments

Written by: Rainbow Rowell

Number of pages: 323

Average Rating: 3.95/5 stars

My Rating: 3/5 stars

Published April 2011

Read in August 2017

Summary According to Goodreads

Beth Fremont and Jennifer Scribner-Snyder know that somebody is monitoring their work email. (Everybody in the newsroom knows. It's company policy.) But they can't quite bring themselves to take it seriously. They go on sending each other endless and endlessly hilarious e-mails, discussing every aspect of their personal lives.

Meanwhile, Lincoln O'Neil can't believe this is his job now - reading other people's e-mail. When he applied to be "internet security officer," he pictured himself building firewalls and crushing hackers - not writing up a report every time a sports reporter forwards a dirty joke.

When Lincoln comes across Beth's and Jennifer's messages, he knows he should turn them in. But he can't help being entertained and captivated by their stories.

By the time Lincoln realizes he's falling for Beth, it's way too late to introduce himself. What would he say...?

My Thoughts

I had been holding onto this novel for so long, but I don't read a lot of adult romance so I was a bit hesitant. To my surprise this wasn't as romantic, and instead was very simple and contemporary. It was very relatable, as are majority of her novels, but I found this one to be overly predictable. Within the first 20 pages I knew how this story was going to play out.

The characters were real but they weren't completely flushed out. I can understand how difficult it is to build well-rounded characters that you only read about through emails, but I felt like their lives blurred together and I struggled to understand their relationship. The two main women (Beth and Jennifer) didn't suck me into their lives, and they didn't seem like girls I'd want to go have a drink with. It was just a constant circle of drama or "woah is me" between their emails. There wasn't any significant growth between these women, instead the novel was focusing on Lincoln and his development - and I was NOT a fan of his. Yes his job was to read emails, but he took it too far and if I was Beth I'd be beyond freaked out.

Of the other two Rainbow Rowell novels I've read, this one had the slowest plot. It was a very quick read, which I appreciated it, but the story wasn't a gripping one. About 20% through I was considering giving it up, but next I knew I was almost halfway through. I never connected to any characters and it overall didn't blow my mind.

Did I laugh out loud a couple of times? Yes. I read it within two days, and I did end up recommending it to my mother to read. I have a feeling this novel is just a bit older than I am, and that hindered my experience. I have now read three books by this author: one I've loved, one I hated, and one I was "meh" about. I haven't decided if I'll give her another chance, but Landline likely won't be the next one. I'll wait to see what she has coming up.

Beauty Queens | Book Review

Beauty Queens

Written by: Libba Bray

Number of Pages: 396

Average Rating: 3.6/5

My Rating: 4/5

Published: May 2011

Read in July 2017

Summary According to Goodreads

When a plane crash strands thirteen teen beauty contestants on a mysterious island, they struggle to survive, to get along with one another, to combat the island's other diabolic occupants, and to learn their dance numbers in case they are rescued in time for the competition.

My Thoughts

I have to be honest when writing this review, about 25% of the way through my ebook edition, I was considering giving up reading it. I was not engaged in the story or the characters, but felt an underlying later of potential that convinced me to power through. I ended up switching to the audiobook, and I am so glad I listened to that instinct! 

The audiobook is narrated by Libba Bray herself, and it made it so much better. She brought so much life to these characters, and I think it was because she was reading characters that she created. She was engaged and gave each character (and there were many) a very distinct voice. This story is best enjoyed through audiobook because there was so much extra detail put into it - extra sound effects, transitions, and footnote inclusions to name a few.

Speaking of the footnotes, I do think they were a little overdone. When I was reading this on my ereader, I ended up ignoring the footnotes because it was so annoying having to flip through the pages to see what the footnote was. I know that this was probably because of the way the ebook was formatted, but it was something that took away from my overall reading experience.

The plot overlapped quite a bit and was a bit confusing to understand, but thankfully it was a very character-driven novel. I understood all of the Confederation aspects and how it translates to the climax, but I think it was a bit too much. It is just a light read that you don't have to think too much about, and for this reason think I would have enjoyed it more if I'd read it a couple of years ago.

This novel touched on so many different themes and social issues, I don't think I'd even be able to name them all here. The most prominent ones were LGBTQIA, feminism and gender stereotypes, racial discrimination, self-love, disabilities, and friendship. Each of these characters were so different, but blended together to form a strong group. None of the characters were perfect, and although they did try to cast that image, they eventually came to terms with who they are and set more realistic expectations for themselves. I also really appreciated the epilogue and closure that it provided for all of the girls - I loved seeing how their future played out in such a fun way!

Overall, I ended up being pleasantly surprised by this novel. It will go down as one of my favourite audiobooks for sure! This was my first time reading this author, and I enjoyed her writing style enough to be interested in wanting to read The Diviners. I am sure she has grown as a writer since the publication of this six years ago, and I am looking forward to seeing her progress.