Back to School for Me

Yup. It's that time of the year again. Most likely that as you are reading this, I will be in school. 

This will be my last first day as a high school-er. I have to say, I do not think that this year could go by fast enough. I am so ready to just be done. But I'm not ready for school to start. I'm very conflicted. 

What does this mean for the blog? Well, at least for the next month, I have a pretty heavy load this year and I won't have as much time to read and probably not as much time to blog, so bare with me while I get settled in. But I promise, I will still be here, posting and visiting everyone else as much as I can. 

And to all of you who will also be starting school soon, as well, hope you have a great year!

Another Type of Heroines

A few weeks ago I did a Kick-Ass heroine post. I think it's pretty unanimous to us readers that we love a good female character who can kick some butt. Then I got to thinking. There are other types of characters and heroines who are equally as awesome but are not the typical kick-ass type. The type of heroines I'm referring to, my friends, are the smart girls. 

These aren't as abundant as the BA girls and in my opinion not appreciated enough. I've come across a few girls who can kick some butt, not physically, but sure can solve some problems using other parts of the body (get your mind out of the gutter!). While I do love and appreciate a girl who is really BA, I enjoy my smart heroines, too. 

Here are a few:

Sydney from Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

If there is one thing Sydney is, it's smart. Not only book smart (which she is) but can problem-solve, too. (Although socially, not so much.)

Bitterblue in Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

There are quite a few mysteries and unknowns in this book, and Bitterblue has to use her wits in order solve them. She is great at solving puzzles and codes and all of that. 

Now, my question is: do we have to choose? The perfect heroine for me would be someone who is really smart, uses her wits, but can kick some butt, too. I mean, there are some smart and strong characters out there, but I'm talking about the absolutely brilliant ones who are strong physically as well. 

Mini Reviews: Something Like Normal & First Comes Love

Something Like Normal
Trish Doller
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's
Release Date: June 19, 2012

Click here for Goodreads description.

This is my first venture into a book where the main character has PTSD. Although heart-breaking at some parts, I really enjoyed it. Travis has been through a lot (as you would expect). He's working to get over his guilt. Something Like Normal is about Travis figuring out how to deal with everything and trying to heal. I really enjoyed Travis's character. I feel that Doller really captured the voice of this young man (I also liked that the MC is a male--a seemingly rarity in YA these days). He could be really funny one minute and really sweet and serious the next. Don't get me wrong, he did make mistakes and made some decisions that I didn't agree with, but I like to think that he learned from them and grew. I really liked this book, but it didn't wow me. It was just lacking that extra something to make me love. Maybe if it were a bit longer I think I would have loved it.


First Comes Love
Katie Kacvinsky
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Release Date: May 8, 2012

Click here for full Goodreads description. 

I, unfortunately, did not enjoy this one as much as I would have liked to. I am finding out that young adult books solely about romance are either eh or absolutely amazing. Anyway. I think that this book was supposed to be character driven (it definitely wasn't a plot-driven book) but I just didn't fall in love with the characters. They were definitely different, which I should have loved. Dylan was really quirky and Gray was seemingly dark and broody but had a lot of depth on the inside (okay, maybe he's not so different). I just found it hard to relate to these characters. Actually, Dylan's quirks kind of bothered me sometimes. And, this book could be predictable and cliche. Now, there were some parts that I enjoyed. All in all, First Comes Love is a cute and sweet love story, but for me it was a bit lacking.

Review: My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

My Life Next Door
Huntley Fitzpatrick
Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers
Release Date: June 14, 2012

A gorgeous debut about family, friendship, first romance, and how to be true to one person you love without betraying another
“One thing my mother never knew, and would disapprove of most of all, was that I watched the Garretts. All the time.”
The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, numerous, messy, affectionate. And every day from her balcony perch, seventeen-year-old Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them . . . until one summer evening, Jase Garrett climbs her terrace and changes everything. As the two fall fiercely in love, Jase's family makes Samantha one of their own. Then in an instant, the bottom drops out of her world and she is suddenly faced with an impossible decision. Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself?
A dreamy summer read, full of characters who stay with you long after the story is over.

To sum it up, I'd say that My Life Next Door is a great summer read. It was really and light (though it had its moments filled with drama). Although it was lacking that extra something to make me love it, I still really enjoyed it. 

Sam is the quiet one in her family. Her mom is an extreme perfectionist and busy-body while her sister has spent most of her teenage years rebelling. In the beginning, Sam is reserved in a way that lets people walk over her at times. By the end, though, she definitely takes charge of her own life. I really enjoyed watching her grow into herself. 

And all of the other characters. There were a lot. I felt that each and every one of them were very realistic, flaws and all. They all had their own stories and I really liked that. 

About the first half of this book was pretty light-hearted. About halfway through it turned really serious and dramatic. There was a lot of emotion in this book but I really enjoyed the roller-coaster. 

This isn't my favorite book, but I sill enjoyed it. Both heart-warming and heart-wrenching, this is a great summer read!

Silver Medal

I just wanted to capture the essence of summer in this beach scene

Review: Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

Second Chance Summer
Morgan Matson
Publisher: Simon and Schuster's Children's Publishing
Release Date: May 8, 2012

From the Flying Start author of Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour, a powerful novel about hope in the face of heartbreak. 
Taylor Edwards’ family might not be the closest-knit—everyone is a little too busy and overscheduled—but for the most part, they get along just fine. Then Taylor’s dad gets devastating news, and her parents decide that the family will spend one last summer all together at their old lake house in the Pocono Mountains.Crammed into a place much smaller and more rustic than they are used to, they begin to get to know each other again. And Taylor discovers that the people she thought she had left behind haven’t actually gone anywhere. Her former best friend is still around, as is her first boyfriend…and he’s much cuter at seventeen than he was at twelve.As the summer progresses and the Edwards become more of a family, they’re more aware than ever that they’re battling a ticking clock. Sometimes, though, there is just enough time to get a second chance—with family, with friends, and with love.

Prior to reading: I absolutely loved Amy and Roger's Epic Detour, so I was excited but wary to read Matson's sophomore novel. I wanted it to be great like Amy and Roger and didn't want to be disappointed. 

Review: With the cover, title, and description, this looks like a light summer read. Second Chance Summer actually deals with a lot tougher things. There are definitely a few tear-inducing moments in this book. But that doesn't mean this book isn't a great summer read. In between those tears there are laugh out loud moments as well. 

Taylor has been going through a lot. She has a habit of running away when things get uncomfortable or awkward. And now she can't run away anymore; she must face the past and the future. I loved watching Taylor grow up during this book. And she does. 

One of my favorite things about Taylor, and Matson's writing, is her voice. This is what makes the book so funny at times. She is just so sarcastic; it's great! I just loved hearing her humor. 

This book is over four hundred pages but it does not seem like it is that long at all. It goes by really fast and by the end I was wishing there was more. 

Overall: I was very happy with Second Chance Summer. Filled with heartache and heart-warming moments, I was not disappointed in the least. The great characters and a fantastic setting completes a great summer read. At this rate, Matson will quickly become one of my favorite authors. 

Gold Medal

What's Next (4)

What is What's Next? It's a meme hosted by Icey Books where we share a few books in our TBR pile and let our viewers pick which on we read next. For more information or to participate visit here. 

Last week the book that got the most amount of votes was Second Chance Summer. I read it and really enjoyed it. My review should be up here in the next few weeks (I'm really backed up on reviews). 

I decided that for these I should have some sort of theme. Last week it was contemporary. This week it is going to be NetGalley books. 

Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire

The new Abby Abernathy is a good girl. She doesn’t drink or swear, and she has the appropriate percentage of cardigans in her wardrobe. Abby believes she has enough distance between her and the darkness of her past, but when she arrives at college with her best friend, her path to a new beginning is quickly challenged by Eastern University's Walking One-Night Stand. 
Travis Maddox, lean, cut, and covered in tattoos, is exactly what Abby needs—and wants—to avoid. He spends his nights winning money in a floating fight ring, and his days as the ultimate college campus charmer. Intrigued by Abby’s resistance to his appeal, Travis tricks her into his daily life with a simple bet. If he loses, he must remain abstinent for a month. If Abby loses, she must live in Travis’s apartment for the same amount of time. Either way, Travis has no idea that he has met his match. 

What I Didn't Say by Keary Taylor

Getting drunk homecoming night your senior year is never a good idea, but Jake Hayes never expected it all to end with a car crash and a t-post embedded in his throat. 
His biggest regret about it all? What he never said to Samantha Shay. He's been in love with her for years and never had the guts to tell her. Now it's too late. Because after that night, Jake will never be able to talk again.
When Jake returns to his small island home, population 5,000, he'll have to learn how to deal with being mute. He also finds that his family isn't limited to his six brothers and sisters, that sometimes an entire island is watching out for you. And when he gets the chance to spend more time with Samantha, she'll help him learn that not being able to talk isn’t the worst thing that could ever happen to you. Maybe, if she'll let him, Jake will finally tell her what he didn't say before, even if he can't actually say it.

Diva by Jillian Larkin

Parties, bad boys, speakeasies—life in Manhattan has become a woozy blur for Clara Knowles. If Marcus Eastman truly loved her, how could he have fallen for another girl so quickly? Their romance mustn't have been as magical as Clara thought. And if she has to be unhappy, she's going to drag everyone else down to the depths of despair right along with her.
Being a Barnard girl is the stuff of Lorraine Dyer's dreams. Finding out that Marcus is marrying a gold digger who may or may not be named Anastasia? A nightmare. The old Lorraine would have sat by and let the chips fall where they may, but she's grown up a lot these past few months. She can't bear to see Marcus lose a chance for true love. But will anyone listen to her?
Now that the charges against her have been dropped, Gloria Carmody is spending the last dizzying days of summer on Long Island, yachting on the sound and palling around with socialites at Forrest Hamilton's swanky villa. Beneath her smile, though, Gloria's keeping a secret. One that could have deadly consequences . . .

Innocent Darkness by Suzanne Lazear

Wish. Love. Desire. Live.
Sixteen-year-old Noli Braddock's hoyden ways land her in an abusive reform school far from home. On mid-summer's eve she wishes to be anyplace but that dreadful school. A mysterious man from the Realm of Faerie rescues her and brings her to the Otherworld, only to reveal that she must be sacrificed, otherwise, the entire Otherworld civilization will perish. 

Tell me in the comments which book I should read next! 

July 2012 Wrap Up

Books Read:

1. Size 12 is Not Fat by Meg Cabot
2. Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore
3. Before I Wake by Rachel Vincent
4. Something Like Normal by Trish Doller (review coming soon)
5. My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick (review coming soon) 
6. Smart Girls Get What They Want by Sarah Strohmeyer
7. Flirting in Italian by Lauren Henderson
8. Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols
9. Obsidian by Jennifer Armentrout (review coming soon)
10. Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin (review coming soon)
11. The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson 
12. The Thing About the Truth by Lauren Barnholdt
13. Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson (review coming soon)

For Whatever reason this summer I just haven't been reading as much. Last summer I was pretty much reading a book a day, but I've been falling behind this year. I guess I have been busy but I still wish I could to do better. 

Other Reviews:

1. Once by Anna Carey 
2. Fever by Lauren DeStefano
3. 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

Favorite of the Month:

It's a tie between Smart Girls Get What They Want and The Girl Who Played with Fire

Other Posts of Interest this month:

• Best Road Trip Books
• Hit or Miss Authors
• Favorites of 2012 Thus Far
• I've established a new rating system! See here!