Book Review: Past Perfect by Leila Sales

Title: Past Perfect

Author: Leila Sales

Synopsis: All Chelsea wants to do this summer is hang out with her best friend, hone her talents as an ice cream connoisseur, and finally get over Ezra, the boy who broke her heart. But when Chelsea shows up for her summer job at Essex Historical Colonial Village (yes, really), it turns out Ezra’s working there too. Which makes moving on and forgetting Ezra a lot more complicated…even when Chelsea starts falling for someone new.

Maybe Chelsea should have known better than to think that a historical reenactment village could help her escape her past. But with Ezra all too present, and her new crush seeming all too off limits, all Chelsea knows is that she’s got a lot to figure out about love. Because those who don’t learn from the past are doomed to repeat it….

Review:

a.) Characters: 4/5 score.  Chelsea and Fiona are amazing besties; I loved the ice cream connoisseur, it sounds like something my bestie and I would do.  Even though some of the characters fell a little flat for me, each one was a little memorable than typical cardboard characters for me.  I think the characters suffered because she was focused on Ezra and Chelsea’s relationship

b.) Plot: 3/5 score.  When I first read the synopsis, I felt discouraged to read it.  A historical reenactment village, really?  But it wasn’t so bad, and it actually turned out to be kind of funny.  I enjoyed when Chelsea was teaching Fiona about the multiple questions you get as an actor.  Getting over Ezra was the whole point though, and it felt a little weak.  

c.) Writing style: 4/5 score.  The writing carried the humor or desperation Leila was trying for when she wanted it.  The process of time seemed to jump a couple weeks without much of anything happening.  I like that she didn’t get carried away with a day-to-day telling, but I would’ve enjoyed more, especially if it was to solidify the characters that needed it.  

Rating: 11/15 total

To be honest, Chelsea's obsession with Ezra was annoying.  He was an ass, and she couldn't let him go.  I wanted to shake her.  At the end of the story, you see how much of an ass he was and how much Chelsea grows.  If anything, the wrap up was pleasantly realistic.  

Book Review: The Pregnancy Project by Bady Rodriguez

Title: The Pregnancy Project

Author: Gaby Rodriguez, Jenna Glatzer

Synopsis:Growing up, Gaby Rodriguez was often told she would end up a teen mom. After all, her mother and her older sisters had gotten pregnant as teenagers; from an outsider’s perspective, it was practically a family tradition. Gaby had ambitions that didn’t include teen motherhood. But she wondered: how would she be treated if she “lived down” to others' expectations? Would everyone ignore the years she put into being a good student and see her as just another pregnant teen statistic with no future? These questions sparked Gaby’s school project: faking her own pregnancy as a high school senior to see how her family, friends, and community would react. What she learned changed her life forever, and made international headlines in the process.

In The Pregnancy Project, Gaby details how she was able to fake her own pregnancy—hiding the truth from even her siblings and boyfriend’s parents—and reveals all that she learned from the experience. But more than that, Gaby’s story is about fighting stereotypes, and how one girl found the strength to come out from the shadow of low expectations to forge a bright future for herself.

Review:

This is unlike anything I have ever read before.  The power in this project is both heart-felt and psychologically stirring.  I am not a teen mom, but I have friends who are, though not as young.  When I was in school in 2007, I had seen my share of pregnant teens and have indeed thought, They are ruining their lives!  It never went beyond simple thought, as I had been bullied and knew the unpleasantness of it.  That didn’t stop the thought, and, even now, will let the phrase drift through my mind when I hear of so-and-so being pregnant (even though we are all adults now).  

Perhaps I am too selfish for children right now, perhaps I just would make a terrible mother- either way, this book made me look from the side of the fence I have never been on.  And Gaby wasn’t even truly pregnant with the symptoms.  She even says it in the book- she could go home, take the belly off, eat whatever she wanted, suffered neither heartburn or morning sickness, etc..  It was terrible to hear about all the things she went through while only pretending to be pregnant.

My heart increasingly grew for her project the more she suffered.  I wanted her to succeed.  I needed her to prove her point and show the world.  But more than anything- I needed her to fight for the under dog, beat the statistic, be the champion of her own life.  I read the book and felt moved and touched and lifted and depressed all at the same time. 

I am glad I read this on PulseIt and did not actually buy it myself.  It isn't really a book I would read again.  Perhaps because it is a memoir.  Whatever the case is I enjoyed the read but probably won't add it to my personal library of books to reread. 

February Wrap up & March TBR

My February Wrap up and my to-be-read pile for March.  Apparently it's going to be a Melissa Marr kind of March for me.  

So for February I have completed (in order of completion):

1. Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler (PulseIt)

2. Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

3. The Alchemy of Forever by Avery Williams (PulseIt)

4. Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers

5. Frostbite (Vampire Academy, #2) by Richelle Mead

6. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia

7. Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

8. How It's Done by Christine Kole MacLean

9. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

10. The Pregnancy Project by Gaby Rodriguez (PulseIt)

According to Goodreads, this puts me 26% ahead of schedule. (YAY!)

On my To-Be-Read pile, I have:

1. Shadow Kiss (Vampire Academy, #3) by Richelle Mead
2. Past Perfect by Liela Sales (PulseIt)
3. Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr
4. Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr
5. Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr
6. Love Struck by Melissa Marr
7. Interrupter by Rachel Coker
8. Halfling by Heather Burch
9. Bloom by Elizabeth Scott
10. Hold Still by Nina LaCour 


And that's not counting if I take another trip to HPBs to get more.  It's starting to be a little habit, every other week.  Vince and I decided to take a trip out and see what they have.  I usually try to avoid buying much, but I easily get caught up and want them all!  

Book Review: The Pledge by Kimberly Derting

Title: The Pledge


Author: Kimberly Derting


Synopsis: In the violent country of Ludania, the classes are strictly divided by the language they speak. The smallest transgression, like looking a member of a higher class in the eye while they are speaking their native tongue, results in immediate execution. Seventeen-year-old Charlaina has always been able to understand the languages of all classes, and she's spent her life trying to hide her secret. The only place she can really be free is the drug-fueled underground clubs where people go to shake off the oppressive rules of the world they live in. It's there that she meets a beautiful and mysterious boy named Max who speaks a language she's never heard before . . . and her secret is almost exposed.


Charlie is intensely attracted to Max, even though she can't be sure where his real loyalties lie. As the emergency drills give way to real crisis and the violence escalates, it becomes clear that Charlie is the key to something much bigger: her country's only chance for freedom from the terrible power of a deadly regime.


Review:



a.) Characters: 4/5 score.  Charlie (Charlaina) is a strong character, and I was easily pulled into her story.  Her friends, Brook and Aron, never get lost in the love romance between Charlie and Max.  Max did fall insta-love with Charlie, and I hate that, but I loved that Charlie fought it when he gave in so easily.  All the characters had a personality, each one a defined face, and each a role that held the story together.  


b.) Plot: 3/5 score.  It was more fantasy than dystopia.  That being said I loved the fantasy.  I didn’t have too hard of a time grasping this plot with the idea that it was more of a fantasy world.  Also, I would guess where she was taking the story before it got there.  Not such a bad thing when Derting got you hyped for it to run that way, but it was a little bit of a let down when you guess where it’s going, and then you get there, and you ended up exactly where you thought you’d be.  


c.) Writing style: 4/5 score.  Descriptive, very vivid and picturesque, and I enjoyed it thoroughly.  Derting certainly hyped up the tension, even if it was leading you right to where you knew you’d be.  I didn’t have a hard time reading this, which was nice since I had under 24 hours to complete this book from PulseIt.  I definitely want to continue the series, and possibly look into other works done by her.  


Rating: 11/15 total

I enjoyed this more than I realized.  Even if I had more time to read it, I think I still would've finished it within the 24 hours anyway.  It was an addictive read, and one that I was engrossed with needing to know more about the characters, the plot, and how everything was going to turn out.  I did not like that there wasn't any surprise to any of the twists as I guessed each and every one of them, but kudos for trying.  ;-)

Book Review: Still Waters by Emma Carlson Berne

Title: Still Waters

Author: Emma Carlson Berne

Synopsis: Hannah can't wait to sneak off for a romantic weekend with her boyfriend, Colin. He's leaving for college soon, and Hannah wants their trip to the lake house to be one they'll never forget. 

But once Hannah and Colin get there, things start to seem a bit...off. They can't find the town on any map. The house they are staying in looks as if someone's been living there, even though it's been deserted for years. And Colin doesn't seem quite himself. As he grows more unstable, Hannah worries about Colin's dark side, and her own safety. 

Nothing is as perfect as it seems, and what lies beneath may haunt her forever.

Review:

a.) Characters: 2/5 score.  Hannah was pretty bad.  We are led to believe she is a good girlfriend, a good sister, and a good daughter.  Then in a matter of two or three chapters she steals from her boyfriend, makes her brother stay with the creepy neighbor, and lies to her mother (all in the beginning of the book!).  Colin seems more real than Hannah, and he is definitely an easier character to believe.  

b.) Plot: 2/5 score.  The whole point of this trip- you learn right in the beginning of the book- is to get alone so Hannah can say “I love you” to Colin.  She wants to say this to him before he leaves for college, so she surprises him with a spur-of-the-moment get-away (which is so not like Hannah).  Everything that takes place at Pine Lake was decent.  I didn’t like the quick-fix, the simple ending, or the fact that he was still going to college after all that.  

c.) Writing style: 3/5 score.  Not bad, but nothing extraordinary.  I actually enjoy the author’s descriptions of the forest, the lake, the thunderstorms.  It was engulfing in scenery, but then the characters kind of fell flat in comparison.  It was an interesting read.  

Rating: 7/15 total

I also have problems with the cover.  It is misleading, and I don't see how it fits with the story.  I feel the cover should be a snapshot of the novel, carrying a thousand words yet revealing little to the course of the plot.  I know, it is a lot to ask.  How very rude of me to judge a book by its cover, but get real people.  If you honestly think your book's cover will go unnoticed because your story sounds so alluring, then maybe you should consider what makes a person pick up a book to read it in the first place.  THE COVER!!!