Review: Pushing the Limits

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Format: ARC
Source: Received at BEA
Buy It From Amazon |  Goodreads
★★★★★

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal.But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.

Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

I did not expect to love Pushing the Limits as much as I did! Guys, this book is seriously incredible. It is a must read for contemporary fans… Actually, I would say it’s must read for everyone! I’m not a big fan of the contemporary genre, but this book just blew me away. Trust me, this is worth it.

There is a fantastic story to be found here. Well really, there are two fascinating stories: Noah is on a quest to be with his brothers again and Echo is trying to find some sort of peace in her life after the loss of her brother, Aires, and what we will call “the incident.” She has difficultly remembering the night of “the incident,” and this book is all about her path to that memory. It was easy to see just how fragile Echo’s mind was after her episodes, aka when she remembered bits of that memory . Like Echo, I found myself consistently asking: Can she handle the truth? Will she crack? What is the truth!? McGarry writes in such detail that it is hard not to question if she has experienced much of this story herself.

The voices of Echo and Noah were completely different and easy to identify. I felt that I was actually reading from a male point of view, which can be hard at times when there is a female author. The romantic scenes were to die for. Noah’s character is not so noble at first glance, but trust me, he warms up on you FAST. Echo was real: She was flawed, she was insecure, and yet she had this inner strength that truly amazed me. Even though her world came crashing down at times, she still persevered. She was quite inspirational. Noah and Echo really complemented each other and made for a great read with dual point of views.

Despite being a bit slow at the start, Pushing the Limits, has earned its place on my favorites shelf. I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone and everyone who will read it.

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Review: The Fault in Our Stars

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Narrator: Kate Rudd 
Format: Audiobook
Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins
Source: Purchased from Audible
Amazon | Audible | Goodreads
★★★★★

Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 12, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now.

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.

The Fault in Our Stars is absolutely brilliant. It is perfect… Though it may be early to make this claim, it could possibly be my favorite book of the year! It’s always difficult for me to write reviews on books that I love this much. I feel that I can never quite do them justice. I will let a quote from The Fault in Our Stars describe it for me:

“Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book.” – The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green

That’s exactly how I feel...  All of us have had our lives touched in some shape or form by cancer. Whether it be watching an actor fight it or a family member, it’s not a foreign thing to us. This book is not just about Hazel and Augustus, it’s about humanity. Anyone who reads this will be able to find some truth in Green’s words. Yes, I have never read any of his previous books… *GASP* I know, crazy right? But this experience has made me contemplate why have let such a gem of a writer go unread for so long… Green’s writing is beautiful, poetic, and completely genius!

Green wrote about a dark subject and yet maintained some glimmer of hope throughout. While this story did make me cry, it did not devastate me. In fact, it was extremely inspirational. The characters were easy to love, understand, and relate to. I couldn’t get enough of the playful banter between Hazel and Augustus! Even living on borrowed time, their relationship progressed naturally and developed into a beautiful, deep love.

I cannot forget to mention the phenomenal narrator of this audiobook, Kate Rudd. It would have been easy for the narrator to take the emotion too far and overdue it. But not Kate! She portrayed the perfect amount of emotion in every single situation. The narration was so real and believable, that it only added to the beauty of Green’s words! She is genuinely talented.

The Fault in Our Stars left me with what can only be described as "that wow feeling." As readers, you all know what I’m talking about: When you sit silently for awhile after finishing a book because you are so in awe of what you had just experienced. You don’t just read or listen to this book, you experience it in the deepest sense… It will make you want to live your life differently! It will change you. And it has certainly set the bar high for the rest of the upcoming YA books this year. The Fault in Our Stars receives my highest recommendation for any reader, regardless of genre!

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Review: Geek Girl

Geek Girl by Cindy C. Bennett
Publisher: Cedar Fort Publishing
Release Date: December 8th, 2011 
Format: Kindle Ebook 
Source: NetGalley  
Amazon | Goodreads
★★★☆☆ (3.5 stars)

"Think I can turn that boy bad?" 17-year-old Jen turns her life upside down when, out of boredom, she makes a bet that she can turn school geek Trevor into someone like her. Instead, the goth girl finds herself sucked into his world of sci-fi movies, charity work, and even-ugh!-bowling. To truly belong with him-and with her new foster family-she must first come to terms with her violent past.

First off, Geek Girl is one to own simply for it’s stunning cover!! The original cover was ok…. but this immediately made me want to grab it from NetGalley. If you weren't sold on the cover, let me tell you there is quite a good story found within it. I was so happy to finally see a NICE guy as the love interest. I’m getting so tired of the YA genre with all of the love interests who are just plain assholes.  

Geek Girl was a refreshing change for me. Not only is there a nice love interest, but there is also a completely refreshing main character! Jen is nothing like the usual insecure, boring, dependent,  YA females. Not that I mind those types… I not only found her story intriguing, but her character was extremely complex. I’m a sucker for complex characters… I love that Cindy was able to make me hate Jen for playing with Trevor’s emotions in the beginning, but then have my mind completely changed by the very end. I really enjoyed watching Jen discover that Trevor wasn't exactly what she thought he would be like. Definitely a book with a "Don't judge a book by it's cover" theme.

For me, there were definitely some issues with pacing, but overall this was a very enjoyable read! Geek Girl would be great for readers looking for a light, quick read that they can finish in one sitting (at least I did). It will leave you smiling and laughing throughout! Though this book may have its flaws, there is a wonderful story to be found here and it is most definitely worth checking out!

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This review is featured as part of the Geek Girl Blog Tour

 

Tour Stops | Goodreads | Amazon | Author Site

Review: Wanderlove

Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard 
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Format: Kindle Ebook 
Pages: 335
Source: NetGalley 
Release Date: March 13, 2012 
Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads
★★★★☆

It all begins with a stupid question:

Are you a Global Vagabond?

No, but 18-year-old Bria Sandoval wants to be. In a quest for independence, her neglected art, and no-strings-attached hookups, she signs up for a guided tour of Central America—the wrong one. Middle-aged tourists with fanny packs are hardly the key to self-rediscovery. When Bria meets Rowan, devoted backpacker and dive instructor, and his outspokenly humanitarian sister Starling, she seizes the chance to ditch her group and join them off the beaten path.

Bria's a good girl trying to go bad. Rowan's a bad boy trying to stay good. As they travel across a panorama of Mayan villages, remote Belizean islands, and hostels plagued with jungle beasties, they discover what they've got in common: both seek to leave behind the old versions of themselves. And the secret to escaping the past, Rowan’s found, is to keep moving forward.
But Bria comes to realize she can't run forever, no matter what Rowan says. If she ever wants the courage to fall for someone worthwhile, she has to start looking back.

Kirsten Hubbard lends her artistry into this ultimate backpacker novel, weaving her drawings into the text. Her career as a travel writer and her experiences as a real-life vagabond backpacking Central America are deeply seeded in this inspiring story

Wanderlove is easily one of the most funny and adventurous stories I have had the privilege of reading this year. Three things in particular stood out about this book to me: (1) Kristen Hubbard’s writing style=hilarious, (2) The characters are so relatable and realistic, (3) There is a ton of wisdom packed into this quick read.

As far as writing styles go, Kirsten Hubbard has one of the most funny ones that I have ever seen! I was constantly giggling and smiling. If you read Wanderlove, expect to be thoroughly entertained from page one!

“At last, a woman excuses herself from the group and approaches me. She’s got knobby knuckles and pearly, lacquered nails. She reminds me of a velociraptor.” – Wanderlove

Bria, the main character of this story, is extremely easy to relate to. Describing herself as an “introverted hanger-back,” all I was thinking was “THAT’S SO ME!” I felt like I was on this journey with her, growing and learning. The newness and wonder of it all was beautiful to me.

As far as scenery goes, I’ve never been to the places in the book, but they sure seemed authentic to me. I’ll admit I even looked up Laughingbird Caye, and guess what!? It’s real! It is clear that Hubbard did some research (maybe even first hand?) for this one. Authenticity in travel fiction is a must!

The ending was left open, but very satisfying. Quite honestly, it was exactly how I wanted it to end. Wanderlove is a simple, yet beautiful adventure of self-discovery, love, and healing. Think Eat, Pray, Love for teenagers! I fell in love with this book from page one.

Review: Anna and the French Kiss

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
Publisher: Dutton Books
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 372
Source: Borders 
Amazon | Goodreads
★★★★★

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris - until she meets Etienne St. Clair: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home.

As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near - misses end with the French kiss Anna - and readers - have long awaited?

Anna and the French Kiss has defied all of my expectations! I knew it would be good, but I didn’t know It’d be this good! Honestly, this book started pretty slow for me… Well, slower than I expected at least. Once things between Anna and St. Clair started picking up I was hooked and flew through it within hours!

I would refer to this as chick-lit for sure… I usually don’t like contemporary YA and chick-lit quite this much. I liked the fact that there was drama, but it was not overdone. I found the constant back and forth from St. Clair frustrating but he did have very viable reasons as to why he was acting the way he did. I empathized with both Anna and St.Clair for they were definitely victims of circumstance. The tension that grew between the two was unbearable and heartbreaking at times.

All of the characters were extremely likeable and the plot was wonderful!! Check out Anna and the French Kiss if you are looking for a quick, cute, and sweet read with some great protagonists.

Review: The Truth About Forever

The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen
Publisher: Puffin
Format: Paperback
Pages: 374
Source: Bookstore
Buy It!? Paperback | Kindle
★★★★★

Sixteen-year-old Macy Queen is looking forward to a long, boring summer. Her boyfriend is going away. She's stuck with a dull-as-dishwater job at the library. And she'll spend all of her free time studying for the SATs or grieving silently with her mother over her father's recent unexpected death. But everything changes when Macy is corralled into helping out at one of her mother's open house events, and she meets the chaotic Wish Catering crew. Before long, Macy joins the Wish team. She loves everything about the work and the people. But the best thing about Wish is Wes—artistic, insightful, and understanding Wes—who gets Macy to look at life in a whole new way, and really start living it.

This was my very first Sarah Dessen book and I must say it was a beautiful experience. This is one of those books that I probably would never have read if it wasn't for the blogging community. I always thought that it could simply be classified as "chick-lit" but it was so much more than that. It was an inspiration.

Macy's grief felt real. My heart broke reading about what she had been through... It is amazing how much she grew throughout the story. She and I both learned so much. Because I started reading this on the beach, I was a little worried that this was going to be a bit too depressing , but I quickly discovered that it was certainly not: There were quite a few parts that actually made me chuckle out-loud (Mostly with Bert in them). Dessen writes without sounding preachy and it is just... poignant and perfect. I'm so happy that I've finally had a chance to try her books. This one will not be the last.

I truely believe that everyone can take something away from The Truth About Forever. Give it a shot and you will not be disappointed.