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Tuesday, August 28, 2012

The Stone Girl, by Alyssa B. Sheinmel

The Lucky Kind by Alyssa B. Sheinmel


Sethie Weiss is hungry, a mean, angry kind of hunger that feels like a piece of glass in her belly. She’s managed to get down to 111 pounds and knows that with a little more hard work—a few more meals skipped, a few more snacks vomited away—she can force the number on the scale even lower. She will work on her body the same way she worked to get her perfect grades, to finish her college applications early, to get her first kiss from Shaw, the boy she loves, the boy who isn’t quite her boyfriend.

Sethie will not allow herself one slip, not one bad day, not one break in concentration. Her body is there for her to work on when everything and everyone else—her best friend, her schoolwork, and Shaw—are gone. 

This one wasn't an easy book to read. Sethie is altogether too real, to me. She is a perfect example of how quickly a teenager (girl or boy) can slide into an eating disorder without any one noticing or saying anything until it's nearly too late. It starts out as a game, a challenge, then it becomes central to your life, more so than breathing. 

Self-discovery shouldn't be so dangerous. It shouldn't consume you, and destroy you. I would've liked to seen more...resolution. Admitting there is a problem is a good start, but I think teenagers need a little more. But then, I always need more closure than an author gives me. I do appreciate that Sheinmel didn't go the "classic" anorexia/bulimia route for Sethie's problems. Eating disorders aren't that black and white, cut and dry. 

It really is an excellent story, very well done. As you read it, you feel like you're in Sethie's head, really seeing what she is.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this ebook galley from Alfred A. Knopf BFYR through the netGalley publisher/reader connection program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” 




Every Day, by David Levithan

A has no friends. No parents. No family. No possessions. No home, even. Because every day, A wakes up in the body of a different person. Every morning, a different bed. A different room. A different house. A different life. A is able to access each person's memory, enough to be able to get through the day without parents, friends, and teachers realizing this is not their child, not their friend, not their student. Because it isn't. It's A. Inhabiting each person's body. Seeing the world through their eyes. Thinking with their brain. Speaking with their voice.

It's a lonely existence—until, one day, it isn't. A meets a girl named Rhiannon. And, in an instant, A falls for her, after a perfect day together. But when night falls, it's over. Because A can never be the same person twice. But yet, A can't stop thinking about her. She becomes A's reason for existing. So each day, in different bodies—of all shapes, sizes, backgrounds, walks of life—A tries to get back to her. And convince her of their love. But can their love transcend such an obstacle?

Levithan certainly writes some interesting stories, and this one is right up there. It's an interesting premise. Really, how would you cope with each day being a new existence? Never telling anyone who you really are, never really getting to experience life for yourself, just everyone else's, every day.

The story is interesting. While the narrator's voice stays the same each day, his (her?) experience and story doesn't. One day he's a straight teenage boy, the next an Asian teenage girl, the next a homosexual teenager. The sudden shift and instantaneous necessity of adopting a role and "walking a mile in someone's shoes" will grab a lot of readers immediately--number-wise AND across the spectrum.

That's what will grab their attention, but it's also the aspect that will bridge many a discussion. Just what is attraction at it's basest form?

Watch for it to be a little over the top in the prose. The story lends itself to a lot of philosophical meandering, and Levithan takes it there well, but I did find myself occasionally giving the big sigh of "move on already."

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this ebook galley from Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers through the netGalley publisher/reader connection program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Beautiful Lies, by Jessica Warman

Rachel and Alice are an extremely rare kind of identical twins—so identical that even their aunt and uncle, whom they've lived with since their parents passed away, can't tell them apart. But the sisters are connected in a way that goes well beyond their surfaces: when one experiences pain, the other exhibits the exact same signs of distress. So when one twin mysteriously disappears, the other immediately knows something is wrong-especially when she starts experiencing serious physical traumas, despite the fact that nobody has touched her. As the search commences to find her sister, the twin left behind must rely on their intense bond to uncover the truth. But is there anyone around her she can trust, when everyone could be a suspect? And ultimately, can she even trust herself? 


(I'd love to give you a picture of the cover page, but I can't seem to snag that from NetGalley. If that changes, I'll update this review.)


This book was pretty wow. Which twin are we following? Who is talking, which one is really hurt? And why doesn't anyone realize it what's going on? How do you tell someone to take you seriously, when you've given them no reason to?


Jessica Warman has it together. This is a edge-of-your-seat kind of YA story that isn't over the top and ridiculous. There's enough almost super-natural (not paranormal, just "above the natural") feel to the story in the shared physical distress to get one wondering and thinking. 


I read Sara Shepard's Pretty Little Liars series before it was cool (and before it was on ABC Family). Beautiful Lies reminds me of that story, only more believable and approachable for the average, every day, non-private school in New England. Rachel and Alice and their families are REAL people with real life problems, not fake.


Excellent read all around. I'd love something new in this same vein. 


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this ebook galley from Bloomsbury Children's Books through the netGalley publisher/reader connection program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” 



Friday, August 10, 2012

Mind Secrets, by Chris Reynolds

On the run and without his memories, Michael escapes from a man called Carter onto the unfamiliar streets of London. There, he meets a gang of teenagers with the power to sense the thoughts and feelings of others. They live in fear of ‘the cure’, a mysterious process which takes away their power and, some believe, destroys their personality. Suspecting the cure caused his memory loss, Michael goes undercover to investigate the truth behind the doctors of the cure clinic. What he discovers leads him to a conspiracy that runs to the heart of government and reveals the shocking reality of his own past.

The action starts on page one of this book, and doesn't ever really let up.

This is a good thing. Sometimes, I find myself needing a break from the action in a story, but Mind Secrets kept me going. Coupled with the fact the Michael has no memories of his life before the story begins, well, that makes it a captivating story.

Set in London, this is a not-so-distant (hopefully) alternate future story line. The events are not completely unbelievable, but definitely fit inside the "what if" thinking of YAs today. Unlike other novels I've read recently that are in a similiar sub-genre, Reynolds didn't "date" the book. The timeliness of the story is that it could happen next month or 10 years from now....and I could say that 10 years from now, as well.

This is one I'd hand off to my boys, and my "realistic fantasy/science fiction" readers.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this ebook galley from Pump Up Your Book. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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