Tag: young adult

Book of the Week-52 Reasons to Hate My Father

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Yesterday, link you read my recap of the first stop of the Fall Fierce Reads Tour, sale featuring Jessica Brody, Leigh Bardugo, Gennifer Albin and Ann Aguirre. One of the books that I picked up, to support the store and get it signed, was 52 Reasons to Hate My Father…the only YA book that I have NOT read of Jessica Brody’s.

Today I had an immense amount of free time, and gobbled this up in a matter of HOURS. I’ve been reading SO many fantasy and sci-fi books, and ohmygod the amount of dystopian novels that I’ve been reading, that it felt SO good to get back to some good ‘ol fun contemporary novels.

So check out my review, spoiler free as always, of this fun book!

52 Reasons to Hate My Father by Jessica Brody 

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GoodReads / Barnes and Noble / Amazon / Book Depository

Genre:

Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Part of a Series?:

Nope

You May Like if You Liked:

Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler, The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot, Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Age Recommendation:

14+: Only because Lexington’s casual use of alcohol may be a bit much for some kids. Other than that, story wise, its probably appropriate for 12+

Plot Summary:

From Good Reads:

Lexington Larrabee has never to work a day in her life. After all, she’s the heiress to the multi-billion-dollar Larrabee Media empire. And heiresses are not supposed to work. But then again, they’re not supposed to crash brand new Mercedes convertibles into convenience stores on Sunset Blvd either.

Which is why, on Lexi’s eighteen birthday, her ever-absent, tycoon father decides to take a more proactive approach to her wayward life. Every week for the next year, she will have to take on a different low-wage job if she ever wants to receive her beloved trust fund. But if there’s anything worse than working as a maid, a dishwasher, and a fast-food restaurant employee, it’s dealing with Luke, the arrogant, albeit moderately attractive, college intern her father has assigned to keep tabs on her.

In a hilarious “comedy of heiress” about family, forgiveness, good intentions, and best of all, second chances, Lexi learns that love can be unconditional, money can be immaterial, and, regardless of age, everyone needs a little saving. And although she might have 52 reasons to hate her father, she only needs one reason to love him.

The Good:

Normally I write a “The Bad” section but I didn’t do it this time, because I honestly really couldn’t come up with anything. Maybe others won’t agree with me, but this book was perfect, for me, right now. I completely enjoyed it.

Honestly, I loved it. Like I said earlier, literally everything I’ve been reading lately has been sci-fi, paranormal, fantasy, dystopian and I’ve been really needing to read some contemporary lately. Badly. So this is beautiful and much needed. I read it in a matter of a couple of hours, and spent a lot of time laughing.

If you’re ever met Jessica Brody, you can definitely see her own voice in her novels. She makes me laugh, she’s silly, she’s kind of what I imagine myself as in the future, hopefully just going up and being silly and making people laugh.

Her stories have a lightness to them, while still having a great story with good lessons, and addressing real issues. In this novel, she addresses the idea of an absent parent and what kind of effect that has on a kid. She always addresses children born into luxury and what that does to them as well. While we’re watching Lexi struggle with her minimum wage jobs, in order to earn her trust fund, it can be easy for you to want to punch her in the face. Most people reading this book aren’t rolling around in thousands of dollars, able to do whatever they want, and buy whatever they want, whenever they want. I’m the girl who sits at home, watching her shows and working on her blog, while eating a nice bowl of spaghetti-os. So Lexi can be frustrating.

But I think that’s the point. Lexi is a frustrating person in the beginning of the novel. She’s wrapped in her luxurious lifestyle, and is so focused on her “poor me” attitude, due to her mother’s early death and her father’s barely there presence. She doesn’t really see past herself. But the more you get to know her, the more she grows on, and then the more she endears you. I loved Lexi. She had a wonderful sense of humor, and sure, she was a brat, but she learned from experience, the way we always do.

Plus, I just liked the idea of it too. The whole riches-to-rags thing is not a new thing; we’ve seen this story before. But her story was funny and unique and different. Her father forcing her to work a different labor intensive job each week was awesome. It was a chance for her not just to be in another person’s shoes, but in a ton of different shoes. Its a way for Lexi to learn much more about herself and about other people, and I think it was fun. Plus she didn’t lose her money, she just had to earn it, and I think that’s the beauty of the story. It started off as her desire to have her trust fund, but it takes on a life of its own as the story continues.

Plus, cute guys, come on. Luke is adorable, and he is so straight and moral and hard working and it reminds me of my boyfriend, who I had to smack a couple times in the past six years in order to have a little bit of fun. Luke and Lexi have influences on each other, and its so fun to watch their friendship unfold.

Rating:

5 out of 5 Stars

Recommended or Not?:

Definitely. I have loved all of Jessica’s books and I hope I’ll find time soon to dive into her adult novels as well. She has a great way of telling a story, and weaving humor and fun into it as well. Her novels are easy, fun reads that can put a smile on your face, and cheer up your day. If you’re looking for a break from all the “feels”, this is a great book for that.

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I hope you enjoyed this edition of the Book of the Week! Make sure to check this book, and others, by Jessica Brody soon!

So much awesome is coming soon: NaNoWriMo, book reviews for Jennifer Armentrout’s Sentinel and Marie Lu’s Champion, and even a couple of interviews! Super excited!

Happy Reading Everyone!

Reality Boy Book Review

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Reality Boy by A.S. King

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This review is based on an advanced reader’s e-copy, physician acquired through NetGalley. This in no way, doctor shape or form had any effect on my honest review. Thank you Little, Brown for granting me access to this novel. 


You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Author Website

GoodReads Summary:

Gerald Faust knows exactly when he started feeling angry: the day his mother invited a reality television crew into his five-year-old life. Twelve years later, he’s still haunted by his rage-filled youth—which the entire world got to watch from every imaginable angle—and his anger issues have resulted in violent outbursts, zero friends, and clueless adults dumping him in the special education room at school.

Nothing is ever going to change. No one cares that he’s tried to learn to control himself, and the girl he likes has no idea who he really is. Everyone’s just waiting for him to snap…and he’s starting to feel dangerously close to doing just that.

In this fearless portrayal of a boy on the edge, highly acclaimed Printz Honor author A.S. King explores the desperate reality of a former child “star” who finally breaks free of his anger by creating possibilities he never knew he deserved.

My Review:

This book was brought to my attention by Andrew Smith, the author of Winger. He kept talking about A.S. King, who I admit I had not heard of before this, and her brand new book, Reality Boy, which was just released yesterday. As soon as I saw it on NetGalley, I immediately bid for it and was excited when I got it. I already read Lauren Kate’s new book, Teardrop, and I went tearing through Allegiant yesterday. After taking some time to recover from Allegiant (which I still haven’t QUITE recovered yet), I was bored and needed to keep moving through my ever-growing list of book. I remembered that this released yesterday, and I sped through this book yesterday too. I was on a ROLL.

I had read the synopsis for this book but I don’t think I was quite prepared for the sort of story that King was going to tell. I was still reeling from Allegiant and my emotions were still going haywire and I went face first into this book, unaware of how this book was going to effect me.

This book was such an eye opener in two different ways. One, it really makes you think about the effect a camera can have on a child, whether its reality TV or just as a child actor. For Gerald, its reality TV, and it scars him big time. Every single thing he did as a child, all that bad, has been broadcast all over TV, and then with the spread of the internet, all over YouTube and all that. That is scarring, and its incredibly thought provoking to think of the effect of having a child’s life broadcast on television before they can even understand what is going on, before they even get to school. Can you imagine going into school and kids already know who you are, and have seen all your bad and embarrassing moments? They can judge you before you’ve even met them, and that’s exactly what happens with Gerald and its absolutely horrifying to watch.

But for me, its even more horrifying because of the way Gerald is treated by his mother and his sister. At first you think, its just a normal teenager, who has anger issues and has a passive mother and a cruel sister, but the story goes so much farther than that. As the story goes on, you learn of the mental, physical and emotional abuse that Gerald goes through at the hands of his seriously crazy and incredibly cruel sister, and the ways in which his mother ignores it. It sickens me. Every single time that something happens (or doesn’t happen) with Tasha or his mother, I just feel so sick to my stomach, and you keep turning the pages, hoping so badly that it gets better for Gerald, that someone does something, that people stop being so incredibly passive.

And I think when Heather, the girl who works with him, comes into his life, with her own set of familial problems, she is able to make him feel worthwhile and full of love, and she makes him feel happy, when he hardly ever feels happy. I think they both kind of embrace that idea that we can’t always excuse the things our families do to us simply because they are family. The whole idea of blood is thicker than water is not always true. I love that it shows we can’t always just deal with what our family dishes out because they are our blood and we are stuck with them for life, and they are the only family you have. Sometimes you have to speak up against the harm being done, and sometimes you have to fight that. I like that the two of them come together, and go on an adventure of friendship and love and self-discovery and escape and freedom.

This book is beautiful and I was so happy to be able to experience and I really have to give thanks to Andrew Smith for that, for promoting this book and this author so much. Its a heartbreaking but eye opening story of the effects that a camera and a neglecting family can have on a child, especially as that child grows up. Its a story of self-discovery and a story of escape from the childhood traumas that can hold us back. Watching Gerald, both as a child and as a burgeoning adult, grow into himself and gain some confidence, set goals and become determined for his freedom and his escape. Such a beautiful novel, and I definitely recommend it. Its a fairly quick read, I read it in about a couple of hours, and I was so glad that I did.

Rating:

5 out of 5 stars

Fandom Friday-Divergent Trilogy

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The Fandom Friday is a weekly feature, page with each blog post written by a new contributor.

This is the weekly post where either myself, approved or a guest blogger, talks about a new fandom. See, I’ve had the experience in my life where I’ve been made fun or put down about my particular fandoms. And that has made me feel pretty crappy. But I’ve also put down other fandoms as well.

So I’ve decided to change that. I’m opening my world up to new fandoms, and the best way to do that is to bring people in to write about various fandoms. I’m very excited about this segment.

If you guys are interested in becoming a guest blogger for the Fandom Friday, feel free to email me at whatanerdgirlsays at gmail.com or contact me HERE. 

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Today’s guest blogger is…not a guest blogger because it is ME.

This week I’ll be talking about a book series that you all may have heard of:

The Divergent Trilogy by Veronica Roth

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The Divergent trilogy has been in the “news” a lot lately. In about two months, the third and final installment of the series, Allegiant, will hit book stores. Not much has been said about the book and we’re all waiting in barely concealed anticipation for this book. It’s also in the news a lot as the movie, which doesn’t even release until March, is already garnering big hype, and being compared to the YA blockbuster, The Hunger Games.

A big reason why I decided to write about Divergent is because I wanted to share two things. For those who haven’t heard of it, I can enlighten you on this seriously amazing book series. For those of you who have heard of it, and have heard The Hunger Games comparisons, I want to show you that NOT all YA books are the same, even if they are in the same genre, like dystopian.

About the Trilogy

So let me tell you a little bit about the series. It is a young adult dystopian series that is a trilogy. The first book is Divergent, followed by Insurgent, and ending with the soon to be released Allegiant. The books are written by the beautiful and talented, Veronica Roth, who is the same age as me, and for that alone, I admire her. The book series follows the main character of Beatrice ‘Tris’ Prior. Tris lives in our world, but in the future, when wars have torn apart the country. As a solution, a new society is created and everyone is split into five factions that represent the virtues they feel is necessary to have a functioning society. The five factions are Erudite (valuing intelligence), Abnegation (valuing selflessness), Dauntless (valuing courage and bravery), Candor (valuing honesty) and Amity (valuing peace).

Beatrice lives with her family in Abnegation, but she is sixteen years old, and it is time to take the tests that show what faction she is most fitted for. However, when she takes her aptitude test, it is revealed that she has shown connections to three different factions (Abnegation, Erudite and Dauntless), that she is a forbidden word: Divergent. Her test taker fixes her results, and sends her home, telling her to never tell anyone what was really said. When it comes time to make a choice, Beatrice sheds her gray clothing and her name, and joins the Dauntless, and she is Tris Prior.

Tris discovers that being Dauntless isn’t easy, and requires more bravery and courage than she anticipated. And being Divergent, and hiding it, causes more problems than she knew as well. The books follow Tris as she attempts to be accepted into the Dauntless family and she unfolds the mysteries that surrounded her society, and the secrets of being Divergent, and why the society is so afraid of them. As she delves deeper into the underbelly of the society, she learns more and more of what is being portrayed and what is really going on.

The first book in the series, Divergent, directed by Nick Burger and produced by Summit Entertainment, has already been filmed and is slated to hit theaters on March 20, 2014. The film stars Shailene Woodley as Tris, Theo James as Four, and includes many well known actors and actresses such as  Miles Tellers, Ashley Judd, Kate Winslet, Zoe Kravitz, Mekhi Phifer and more.

Where I Found It

Honestly, it was all sort of word of mouth for me. I had enjoyed The Hunger Games trilogy immensely and several people kept telling me to read Divergent, that I would enjoy it a lot. I finally caved in and bought it on my Kindle, and stayed up all night reading it. I remember feeling pretty surprised at the cliffhanger and wanting to immediately read the sequel.

As luck would have it, the sequel, Insurgent, had literally been released that day. I immediately purchased it on my Kindle and started reading it at about 3 am. I had to convince myself that staying up all night was a terrible idea, but I read it the next day and finished it, and I was easily hooked.

Why You Should Be Reading It

I know what you’re thinking: another dystopian novel series? Isn’t that getting a bit old? And I can see where you are coming from. There are a ton of various dystopian novels on the shelves these days and its hard to pick ones that are good, because there are just so many to choose from. This is one that you definitely have to pick up, especially if you are a fan of The Hunger Games.

I think that Veronica Roth has this ability to appeal to both a male and female audience, even though the main character is female. She really presents a great story, with fully fleshed out characters and characters that are so important and easy to love, besides just Tris and Four. It is NOT a love story, though a love story is woven in there. This is the story of two people, who team up with so many others, to find out the truth of a country. The politics, and the psychology of this system that has been created as a solution to the problems of the past are SO interesting and they keep you racing through the pages as you watch Tris and Four try to figure it out.

I also think that Tris is an amazing character, a strong female character that remains strong. I find often times that a female character can start off really strong but then sort of loses that strength over time to whininess. I admire that Tris loses some of her strength at times, because she has gone through so much but she never loses her resolve and she never resorts to whining or any of that. She stays strong, even when she’s at her weakest, and I think that’s very important and will play an important part in the last and final book. I also think the character of Tobias “Four” Eaton is also important and fantastic as well. He is a strong character, whether you’re a boy or a girl reading this novel. He grew up in an incredibly abusive situation, both physically and emotionally, with his father, and escapes to the faction of Dauntless to get away from him. Learning this about Four, and seeing the strength that he has had to earn over time, and seeing his relationship with his father, is incredible. T

hese two characters alone are enough to read this book, and neither of them are my favorite character of the series! The series is filled with so many different, unique, believable characters that you can connect and relate to. Even though this is set in a world that is both recognizable and yet so utterly different, it is not hard to connect with these people and some of the things that are happening with them.

Plus there is all the action. From the moment Tris decides to switch from Abnegation to Dauntless, you are on an action packed roller coaster, as she fights her way through initiation and learns to fight, handle a gun, and learns what it really means to be courageous and fearless.

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I hope you all enjoyed learning about the Divergent trilogy today. I know that there are many of you who have already read it, but I hope that those of you who haven’t will be encouraged to do so. There is so much awesome in this book, and there is also SO much to discuss as well!

Come back soon for a new Fandom Friday, and check out previous ones here!

Have you read Divergent? What did you think of it? How did you get into the books, and what would you say to someone that you were trying to convince to read it? As always, share in the comments!