Tonight the Streets Are Ours by Leila Sales

Title: Tonight the Streets Are Ours

Author: Leila Sales

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

Release Date: September 15, 2015

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

From the author of This Song Will Save Your Life comes a funny and relatable book about the hazards of falling or a person you haven’t met yet.

Seventeen-year-old Arden Huntley is recklessly loyal. Taking care of her loved ones is what gives Arden purpose in her life and makes her feel like she matters. But she’s tired of being loyal to people who don’t appreciate her—including her needy best friend and her absent mom.

Arden finds comfort in a blog she stumbles upon called “Tonight the Streets Are Ours,” the musings of a young New York City writer named Peter. When Peter is dumped by the girlfriend he blogs about Arden decides to take a road trip to see him.

During one crazy night out in NYC filled with parties, dancing, and music—the type of night when anything can happen, and nearly everything does, Arden discovers that Peter isn’t exactly who she thought he was. And maybe she isn’t exactly who she thought she was, either.

This is where I admit that despite having copies of all her books on my shelves (some of them for YEARS), Tonight the Streets Are Ours was the first of her books that I read. And I had high hopes for it. Though those hopes weren’t exactly met, I still found myself loving this story.

Arden Huntley is keeping her family from falling apart after her mother left. That’s who Arden’s always been. She takes care of the people around her and she will be loyal to a fault. But always being the one to take care of everyone gets to be tiring and Arden can’t help but feel like her friends and family don’t love her as much as she loves them. When she stumbled on a blog called “Tonight the Streets Are Ours,” Arden immediately connects with the writer and becomes captivated by Peter’s story. So when Peter’s girlfriend breaks up with him, Arden decides to drive to New York City to see him. For one night, Arden gets to do something for herself instead of worrying about everyone else. And during that one night, Arden will discover so much about herself, her family, and the boy she traveled to see.

I’m a little ashamed to admit that despite having owned many of her books for quite some years, it wasn’t until a couple weeks ago that I finally read a book by Leila Sales. Honestly, I don’t know why it took me so long. Two years ago, I was really excited about This Song Will Save Your Life, but somehow never got around to reading it despite having been told by lots of people that I should read it. But I decided to finally get my act together and read one of her books. And so I read Tonight the Streets Are Ours. And I would be lying if I said I didn’t have high hopes for it. Because I totally did. And some of those hopes were absolutely met. And others, took on an unexpected form. All together, it make for a reading experience. But one that was still really enjoyable. I guess the main thing that was different than I expected where Tonight the Streets Are Ours is concerned is that the love story was not what I thought it was going to be. I was totally expecting something romantic to happen between Arden and Peter. And that’s not really what this story was about. Instead, it was more about falling in love with yourself. Which is a great message, just not quite the one I was expecting.

I loved seeing the growth and character development in Arden as I read through the story. It made me appreciate her that much more. And her journey from someone who focuses on others more than on herself to someone who finally learns to put herself first was a great one to see. It definitely wasn’t without its obstacles. And for a good chunk of the book I just wanted to tell her to do what she wanted, not what she thought she wanted or what other people wanted her to do. I just wanted her to stop putting so much unnecessary pressure on her shoulders. And Ioved when she started letting go. Even if letting go meant getting somewhat obsessed with someone she’d never met (though, really, haven’t we all sort of been there, in a way). And I’m not going to lie, I became a little obsessed with Peter, too. I loved getting to read his blog posts and finding out him that way. And much like Arden, I had trouble reconciling the Peter from the blog, and the Peter she actually met. To be completely honest, I didn’t really much care for the “real Peter,” I liked “blog Peter” a whole lot more. But that showed just how much social media allows us to be someone completely different from the person we really are.

Even though it wasn’t quite the story I thought it was going to be, I still really enjoyed reading Leila Sales’s Tonight the Streets Are Ours. It was an interesting story with an unexpected twist on the romance. And it reminded me that I have lots of Leila Sales books sitting on my shelves that need reading.

Unremembered by Jessica Brody

Title: Unremembered (Unremembered #1)

Author: Jessica Brody

Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux

Release Date: March 5, 2013

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository

When Freedom Airlines flight 121 went down over the Pacific Ocean, no one ever expected to find survivors. Which is why the sixteen-year-old girls discovered floating among the wreckage--alive--is making headlines across the globe.

Even more strange is that her body is miraculously unharmed and she has no memories of her life before the crash. She has no memories period. No one knows how she survived. No one knows why she wasn't on the passenger manifest. And no one can explain why her DNA and fingerprints can't be found in a single database in the world.

Crippled by a world she doesn't know, plagued by abilities she doesn't understand, and haunted by a looming threat she can't remember, Seraphina struggles to piece together her forgotten past and discover who she really is. But with every clue only comes more questions. And she's running out of time to answer them. 

Her only hope is a strangely alluring boy who claims to know her from before the crash. Who claims they were in love. But can she really trust him? And will he be able to protect her from the people who have been making her forget?

From popular young adult author Jessica Brody comes a compelling and suspenseful new sci-fi series, set in a world where science knows no boundaries, memories are manipulated, and true love can never be forgotten.

I remember first hearing about Jessica Brody's Unremembered and being really excited at the prospect of reading it. And somewhere along the way I must have missed the part about this being a sci-fi book, so I was confused. But that didn't stop me from enjoying the book once I realized what it was all about.

When she finds herself amid the remains of a plane crash in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, Seraphina doesn't know how she got there or even who she is. The only person who seems to know who she is is a mysterious boy who seems to simple appear and then vanish just as easily, only to warn Seraphina that some dangerous people are after her. But when you have no idea who you are, where you're from or even where you are, staying out of danger's way is not as easy as it seems.

Like I mentioned, I had somehow missed the part about Unremembered being a sci-fi book. Don't ask me why or how, but I had somehow missed that tidbit of information. So you can imagine that I was somewhat confused when I first started reading the book. But once I finally clued in, things started making a lot more sense and I started enjoying the story a lot more. The story in Unremembered is an interesting one. There are definitely many aspects of it that I didn't see coming. I don't necessarily read all that much sci-fi but this one was quite different from the others that I've read. It's a little hard talking about this story without giving away the big reveal, but I will say that this story may not be what you expect it to be. 

Sera was an interesting character to read about. For a good chunk of the book, she was completely clueless, but not in the way you might think. She's not intentionally clueless so much as she's lost all her memories and doesn't seem to know anything about the world she lives in. In this sense, having the story told from her point of view was different. It felt like I was discovering everything at the same time as she did. But as interesting as Sera was, the character that I truly enjoyed was Cody. There was something about the boy that made me laugh, and I loved it anytime he was around. He was just one of those quirky kids and the way he acted with Sera just kept putting a smile on my face. As far as Zen is concerned, I'm not entirely sure what I made of him. He was interesting but it felt like I didn't have enough information about him. But I feel like in future books I will get to find out a lot more about him.

Though it wasn't what I thought it was going to be, Unremembered by Jessica Brody turned out to be a different and interesting read. I still have a lot of questions about different aspects of the book, but with the way things ended, I'm hoping to get some of those answers in future book. So if you're looking for a sci-fi read, you may want to consider Unremembered.

Waiting on Wednesday (59)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine where book bloggers devote a post to an upcoming book release they are particularly looking forward to.

THIS WEEK'S PICK:

CREWEL BY GENNIFER ALBIN

Incapable. Awkward. Artless.

That's what the other girls whisper behind her back. But sixteen-year-ld Adelice Lewys has a secret: she wants to fail.

Gifted with the ability to weave time with matter, she's exactly what the Guild is looking for, and in the world of Arras, being chosen as a Spinster is everything a girl could want. It means privilege, eternal beauty, and being something other than a secretary. It also means the power to embroider the very fabric of life. But if controlling what people eat, where they live and how many children they have is the price of having it all, Adelice isn't interested.

Not that her feelings matter, because she slipped and wove a moment at testing, and they're coming for her--tonight.

Now she has one hour to eat her mom's overcooked pot roast. One hour to listen to her sister's academy gossip and laugh at her Dad's stupid jokes. One hour to pretend everything's okay. And one hour to escape.

Because once you become a Spinster, there's not turning back.

Despite having seen this book floating around the blogosphere for quite some time already, it's only just recently that I actually found out what the book was about. And then I decided that it sounded like something that I would be very much interested in reading. And so now I'm eagerly awaiting its release.

Crewel by Gennifer Albin will be published October 16, 2012 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.