On the Island by Tracey Garvis-Graves

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I really liked this book. I was reluctant when I first heard about it because of the age difference, but I think it was handled really well.



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Sweet Filthy Boy by Christina Lauren

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I loved this. It was sweet and hot and had a real couple having real discussions. I really hate it when the "conflict" in a story comes about solely due to lack of communication. It was refreshing to have a couple talk through a problem rather than having one of them run away or make a ton of assumptions. How grown-up!



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Review: Lola and the Boy Next Door

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A sort-of sequel to Anna and the French Kiss (Anna and St. Clair are supporting characters), Lola takes place in San Francisco and the Bay area, following eccentric high school senior Lola through her trials with boys, friends, and parents.

Let me just put it out there, in case the five-star rating didn't make it clear: I loved this book! While I wanted to smack Lola at times (she is a teenage girl, it comes with the territory), for the most part I found her adorable and wanted her for my own. I loved her style, her relationship with her dads (more on that in a minute), and her general outlook on life. I loved Lola's best friend Lindsey, who stuck around even when Lola was being a brat about boys. And I ADORED Cricket. But, of course, that was probably the plan.

When the book starts, Lola is dating and "older man," Max, who is 22 and in a band. Needless to say, Lola's dads don't approve, and do what they can to keep tabs on her when she's with him (Sunday brunches with the family, calling in once an hour). You just KNOW that Max isn't the boy for her, you're just waiting for Lola to figure that out for herself. That is helped along quite a bit by the return to town of the Bell twins, Calliope and her brother Cricket, with whom Lola has a long history. Things get a little less clear for Lola when Cricket comes back into her life. And that's a good thing.

Now, Lola's dads. Yes, they are a gay couple, but they're not portrayed stereotypically or campy in any way (though her dad Andy does have a deep love for figure skating, which Lola considers his "gayest" trait). They are also not the typical absentee YA parents. They know where their kid is (or think they know where she is -- again, she's a teenage girl with an older boyfriend), and they discipline and punish her when necessary. Her birth mother is in the picture, but I won't say any more about her here.

Lola does some growing and changing in this book, but in what I feel are completely realistic ways. She feels like a real teenager with a real family and friends, and I love her.



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Book Review: Lightning of Her Own

Lightning of Her Own by Levi Montgomery

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I received this book for free from BookRooster.com. That did not affect my review.

Lightning of Her Own is a post-apocalyptic story, taking place about 70 years after an alien invasion that resulted in electricity no longer functioning on earth, and the subsequent chaos that caused. Teenage Amarylla travels with her father, an engineer, and two guards out of the Republic of New York in search of a man her father has heard of who has made electricity work again.

I enjoy a good post-apocalyptic story, as I like to see the world the author creates. This was a very interesting world. People don't really know what the aliens (which they call "bugs") are, though there's much speculation, including that Earth was treated as a penal colony, and the electricity was destroyed to prevent the bugs from leaving.

Amarylla and her party leave the relative glamor and riches of the Republic of New York to head into the wilds outside their walls. During the trip, Amarylla grows into a strong woman, one who abandons her frilly dresses and stuffed animals for practical pants and shirts, and learns how to shoot, stand guard, and drive a wagon.

This is told from a third-person omniscient point-of-view, which is a little disconcerting at first, but I ultimately liked it, because it lets you see the thoughts and feelings of characters without convoluted POV changes or annoying repetition of events.

This is part of a trilogy, but, unlike many books in series, I didn't feel like anything was missing from this book that could only be solved by reading the next. It's complete in itself, but reading the others would probably give one a more complete view of the world.



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Book Review: Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


How do I explain how much I loved this book? It was laugh-out-loud funny, poignant, sad, and ultimately uplifting. I have a feeling that the authors wouldn't really like the "uplifting" part of that sentence, but I had to say it.

Will Grayson #1 had me laughing right off the bat. The whole "you can pick your friends, you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friend's nose" thing was hysterical. And I liked how that was a recurring theme through the book.

I wanted to bring Will Grayson #2 home with me and keep him safe and warm and happy. Luckily for all of use Tiny Cooper and WG1 sort of took care of that.

Oh, Tiny Cooper. I want a Tiny Cooper in my life. He struck me as the kind of kid who figured that, given his life circumstances, he could be miserable, or he could embrace who and what he was and run with it. Thankfully, he chose the latter. I really want to see his musical. :)

This book is definitely for the older YA audience. The characters are 16-17, and that's the age I would recommend for the reader, as this book deals with some mature issues, and the language is rather raw at times.



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