Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider

Title: Extraordinary Means

Author: Robyn Schneider

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Release Date: May 26, 2015

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

From the author of The Beginning of Everything: two teens with a deadly disease fall in love on the brink of a cure.

At seventeen-overachieving Lane finds himself at Latham House, a sanatorium for teens suffering from an incurable strain of tuberculosis. Part hospital and part boarding school, Latham is a place of endless rules and confusing rituals, where it’s easier to fail breakfast that it is to flunk French.

There, Lane encountered a girl he knew years ago. Instead of the shy loner he remembers, Sadie has transformed. At Latham, she is sarcastic, fearless, and utterly compelling. Her friends, a group of eccentric troublemakers, fascinate Lane, who has never stepped out of bounds his whole life. And as he gradually becomes one of them, Sadie shows him their secrets: how to steal internet, how to sneak into town, and how to disable the med sensors they must wear at all times.

But there are consequences to having secrets, particularly at Latham House. And as Lane and Sadie begin to fall in love and their group begins to fall sicker, their insular world threatens to come crashing down. Told in alternating points of view, Extraordinary Means is a darkly funny story about doomed friendships, first love, and the rare miracle of second chances.

Robyn Schneider’s debut, The Beginning of Everything, was one of my favourite reads when it came out in 2013. So Extraordinary Means was pretty high on my list of 2015 books I was anticipating. And this touching and heartbreaking story completely lived up to my expectations. 

Lane has spent the first seventeen years of his life planning for his future, always striving to be the best to ensure that his future is set. What Lane never planned for was becoming infected with an incurable strain of tuberculosis and being sent to a sanatorium for teens as a result. When he gets to Latham House, Lane quickly realizes that things are completely different and goes from always being at the top of his class to not understanding most of what is happening around him. But there is one upside to Latham House: Sadie. But Sadie isn’t the same girl Lane knew from summer camp when they were thirteen. At Latham, Sadie is part of a group of friends determined to push all the boundaries the sanatorium imposes on them. Lane is immediately drawn to Sadie and her friends, wanting, for once, to feel like part of the group. Before long, Lane and Sadie begin to fall in love while everyone around them continues to get sicker, and their world threatens to come crashing down around them. But what if second chances and a cure are possible?

Based on the emotional wringer I was put through while reading The Beginning of Everything, I was prepared for Robyn Schneider to basically break my heart with Extraordinary Means. I mean, this is a story about teens being sent away to boarding school-like institutions because they need to be quarantined. Sounds like the perfect premise for a happily ever after. Or not. But even knowing that going in, and having seen some of my friends’ reactions upon finishing the book, I still don’t think I was fully prepared for what this book did to me. This story started out sort of quiet. Or as quietly as a story about teens with an incurable illness can start. But then it sort of crept up on me. Though I don’t know that “crept up” is necessarily the right way to put it because I had a pretty good idea that this was going to happen to me while reading. Before too long, I was completely sucked into the story, with the characters worming their way into my heart and there was very little I could do about it. And that’s when I started worrying about what Extraordinary Means was going to do to my heart by that time I finished it. So when the punches started coming it was painful, but it was such a beautifully written story that it didn’t hurt too much. That doesn’t still mean I wasn’t bawling by the time I finished the book. Because I totally was. The last couple chapters were pretty hard to read through all the tears. But that’s what Lane, Sadie and their friends will do to you.

Robyn Schneider knows how write characters that leap off the page. This is something I loved about her debut, and I loved it again with Extraordinary Means. Even the characters who weren’t constantly at the forefront of the story felt real and fully formed. They all had something that defined them and made them feel that much more real while I was reading. Obviously this was true of Lane and Sadie. And I loved both of them and both of them had an interesting arc throughout the story. For Lane, it was finally feeling like he was part of something and living his life as opposed to just doing what was expected of him, while for Sadie it was about accepting that her life would continue even once she was able to leave Latham House. And that meant they were great for each other. Sadie helped Lane live his life instead of just achieve the next goal and he was able to make her see everything they could be outside the walls of Latham. Seeing them together made my heart happy but also caused me to worry a lot about what Robyn Schneider had in store for them and how my heart would react to that. And everything I felt about Lane and Sadie, I also felt about Nick, Marina and Charlie, the rest of their crew. Together, those five were responsible for a lot of tears. But in a way, it was really worth it to get to read their story.

Robyn Schneider wrote an absolutely beautiful, and at times heartbreaking, story in Extraordinary Means. Despite being about teens with tuberculosis, this story is not about sickness and death. It’s about living and what to do when life decides to give you a second chance.

Blog Tour - The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows

Title: The Orphan Queen (The Orphan Queen #1)

Author: Jodi Meadows

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Release Date: March 10, 2015

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

Wilhelmina has a hundred identities.

She is a princess. When the Indigo Kingdom conquered her homeland, Wilhelmina and other orphaned children of nobility were taken to Skyvale, the Indigo Kingdom’s capital. Ten years later, they are the Ospreys, experts at stealth and theft. With them, Wilhelmina means to take back her throne.

She is a spy. Will and her best friend, Melanie, infiltrate Skyvale Palace to study their foes. They assume the identities of nobles from a wraith-fallen kingdom, but enemies fill the palace, and Melanie’s behavior grows suspicious. With Osprey missions becoming increasingly dangerous and their leader more unstable, Will can’t trust anyone.

She is a threat. Wraith is the toxic by-product of magic, and for a century using magic has been forbidden. Still the wraith pours across the continent, reshaping the land and animals into fresh hours. Soon it will reach the Indigo Kingdom. Wilhelmina’s magic might be the key to stopping the wraith, but if the vigilante Black Knife discovers Wil’s magic, she will vanish like all the others.

Jodi Meadows introduces a vivid new fantasy full of intrigue, romance, dangerous magic, and one girl’s battle to reclaim her place in the world.

If you’ve been following me here on the blog or on social media for any length of time, you’ve probably noticed that I don’t tend to read much fantasy. Especially in recent months, I haven’t strayed too far away from contemporary. But every so often I will stray and find myself surprised by how much I’m enjoying a book that’s not contemporary. And most recently that happened with Jodi Meadows’s The Orphan Queen. 

Ten years ago, Wilhelmina watched, helpless, as her parents were killed right in front of her. Now, she and the other One-Night War orphans are the Ospreys, determined to get their kingdom back with Wilhelmina rightfully in her place on the throne. But taking back the kingdom isn’t easy. Wil and her best friend, Melanie, have to sneak into Skyvale Palace and assume new identities in order to observe their enemies. Everything would be going according to plan if Wil didn’t continually cross paths with the mysterious Black Knife. Black Knife isn’t who Wil thought he was, but that doesn’t mean she can be honest with him about her identity. And she especially can’t let him, or anyone, know the truth about her magic.

Before I get into all the things I loved about The Orphan Queen, allow me to take a moment to explain why I so often struggle with fantasy. When I read, I am very much a character person. Sure I care about the plot and the world, but not as much as I do about characters. With fantasy, though, it tends to be about the world as much as it is about the characters. And it makes it harder for me to get into the story, especially since it tends to be told in third person. But The Orphan Queen was different. For starters, it was told in first person which meant I was able to get right into the story. Not only that, but it was relatively light on long-winded descriptions (which is usually where most fantasy reads lose me). It didn’t hurt that the story in The Orphan Queen was captivating and engrossing. It really didn’t take long for me to get dragged in. There were so many mysteries that needed solving and I was curious about all of them. I JUST HAD TO KNOW what was going on. I can’t help it, I’m a naturally curious person. And can we take a moment to talk about that ENDING. If the mysteries throughout the story weren’t enough, that ending has me pretty much begging for the next book. But what really kept me reading this story, what really drew me in, were the characters that Jodi Meadows introduced in this story.

Wil was a pretty badass character if you want to know the truth. I mean, this girl watched her parents be brutally murdered while she couldn’t do anything and has spent the decade since their death trying to get back the kingdom that was taken away from her. No matter how much she has had to go through, she doesn’t stop fighting for what she believes in and protecting the people she cares about. Granted there were times when I wanted to yell at her a little because I knew what she was doing wouldn’t end well. I couldn’t help it, I wanted her to be okay and to make it through everything alive. And sometimes things got really dicy. As awesome Wil was, the supporting characters were just as great. All of them felt fully fleshed out and lie real people while I was reading. And then there was Black Knife. For most of the book, I had no idea who he was. I mean, I had my theories, but because of other things happening my theories didn’t seem possible. Needless to say that I was a strong supporter of Black Knife and because of that there are some things that happened that did not make me happy and make me afraid of book two. And that’s all I’ll say on the matter.

Though I don’t normally read a lot of fantasy, Jodi Meadows’s The Orphan Queen was an absolutely fantastic (pun fully intended) read for me. It’s rare that I get this excited about fantasy and I honestly cannot wait to see where the story will go next.

Be sure to follow the rest of the Canadian The Orphan Queen blog tour!

March 2 - Emilie's Book World
March 3 - Hiver et Cafe
March 4 - Conversations of a Reading Addict
March 5 - Bookish Serendipity
March 6 - A Glass of Wine
March 9 - Stuck in YA Books
March 10 - Read My Breath Away
March 11 - More Than Just Magic
March 12 - Kelsey's Cluttered Bookshelf
March 13 - Lost at Midnight Reviews

Blog Tour - Kiss Kill Vanish by Jessica Martinez

Title: Kiss Kill Vanish

Author: Jessica Martinez

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Release Date: October 7, 2014

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

Valentina Cruz no longer exists.

One moment, she was wrapped in Emilio’s arms, melting into his kiss. The next, she was witnessing the unthinkable: a murder in cold blood, ordered by her father and carried out by her boyfriend. When Emilio pulled the trigger, Valentina disappeared. She made a split-second decision to shed her identity and flee her life of privilege, leaving the glittering parties and sultry nightlife of Miami far behind.

She doesn’t know how to explain to herself what she saw. All she knows now is that nothing she believed about her family, her heart, or Emilio’s love, was real.

She can change her name and deny her past, but Valentina can’t run from the truth. The lines between right and wrong, and trust and betrayal, will be blurred beyond recognition as she untangled the deceptions of the two men she once loved and races to find her own truth.

I love a good thriller. When I first heard about Jessica Martinez's Kiss Kill Vanish, I knew it had the potential to be just that. The more I heard about it, the more excited about it I got. Everyone seemed to be loving this book. And having now read it, I can definitely see why because I am in the same boat as everyone who's loved this book.

After what she saw from Emilio's closet that night, Valentina Cruz didn't even take the time to back her things before she fled town. She couldn't believe what she had seen, that Emilio and her father could have done what they did. But she saw it with her own eyes. Now in Montreal, with nothing to her name, Valentina is surviving, doing what she has to in order to keep a roof over her head. But when what she thought she had left behind in Miami comes back to haunt her, Valentina doesn't know what or who to believe. How can she possibly understand what she saw when she can't even explain it to herself? She thought she knew her family's story, but now she doesn't know what's real anymore. Valentina knows she can't run away from the truth anymore, but what truth was she trying to run from in the first place? 

Thrillers are awesome. Whether in book form, TV show form or movie form, I love them all and can't seem to get enough of them. Whenever I hear about a new one coming out, I get excited and can't wait to read it. With Jessica Martinez's Kiss Kill Vanish, I already knew that I enjoyed this author's books so I was interested to see how I would feel about a thriller. Kiss Kill Vanish definitely had a lot of potential. When I first heard about it, I couldn't wait to read it. The closer it got to the release date, the more positive reviews I saw and the more excited to read it I got. Once I started reading, though, I wasn't exactly sure how I felt about the story. For a while, I just couldn't seem to get into it. It just felt like it was not going anywhere. But then once the story got going, I was very much into it. I saw some of the big twists coming. But here were many instances when I didn't know what to believe anymore. So often, I would feel just like Valentina did, trying to puzzle out exactly what her family is involved in and who around her she can trust. Because this was very much Valentina's story, finding out the truth about her past and her family's past.

I'm not going to lie, Valentina kind of bugged me at first. To be honest, the first part of the book kinda just felt like she was throwing this big pity party for herself. Don't get me wrong, I got that she was trying to figure stuff out and that she was dealing with the fact that she saw her boyfriend kill someone after being ordered to do so by her father. And yes, she was struggling. But still, I was very excited when she finally started doing something to help herself, even if I didn't completely agree with what she was doing. By the end of the book, though, I loved the person Valentina had become. And then there was Emilio and Marcel. I wasn't sure how to feel about Emilio. Valentina clearly loved him, but I was never sure if she loved him for the right reasons. There was just always something about him that seemed off at first. And Marcel, well I didn't think much of him at first. At all. I just thought he was going to be a background character. He didn't exactly make a great first impression, but the more I got to know him, the more I came around to Marcel. And much like with Valentina, I liked him very much by the time I finished reading Kiss Kill Vanish.

With Kiss Kill Vanish, Jessica Martinez moved away from the type of contemporary stories she had so far written and I am happy to report that it was a successful change. Once I got into it, I highly enjoyed this story, even if it wasn't always what I thought it was going to be.

Be sure to follow the rest of the Canadian Kiss Kill Vanish blog tour!

October 6 - A Glass of Wine

October 7 - Lost In Ever After

October 8 - Emilie's Book World

October 9 - More Than Just Magic

October 10 - BO-OK Nerd Canada

October 13 - Read. Sleep. Repeat

October 14 - Mermaid Vision Books

October 15 - Lost At Midnight Reviews

October 16 - Words of Mystery

October 17 - Read My Breath Away

Life by Committee by Corey Ann Haydu

Title: Life by Committee

Author: Corey Ann Haydu

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Release Date: May 13, 2014

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

Some secrets are too good to keep.

Tabitha might be the only girl in the history of the world who actually gets less popular when she gets hot. But her so-called friends say she’s changed, and they’ve dropped her flat.

Now Tab has no one to tell about the best and worst thing that has ever happened to her: Joe, who spills his most intimate secrets to her in their nightly online chats. god, whose touch is so electric, it makes Tab wonder if she could survive and actual kiss. Joe, who has Tabitha brimming with the restless energy of falling in love. Joe, who is someone else’s boyfriend.

Just when Tab is afraid she’ll burst from keeping the secret of Joe inside, she finds Life by Committee. The rules of LBC are simple: tell a secret, receive an assignment. Complete the assignment to keep your secret safe.

Tab likes it that the assignments push her to her limits, empowering her to live boldly and go further than she’d ever go on her own.

But in the name of truth and bravery, how far is too far to go?

Corey Ann Haydu’s Life by Committee is one of those books that has been talked about for a long time, to the point where I don’t even really remember what made me want to read it. Sure, it’s contemporary and as we all know, I’ll read pretty much anything contemporary. But beyond that I don’t really know why. And I guess because of that, I had this idea in my head of what the book would be. In the end, it wasn’t what I had thought it was going to be. It was actually better.

Since the beginning of the school year, Tabitha has felt isolated. Ever since she got hotter, her old friends dropped her, saying she was no longer the same person. To everyone, it looks like Tab only has one friend, Elise. But what they don’t know, is she spends all her nights chatting online with Joe. Joe who has a girlfriend everyone loves. And who Joe says he loves. But Joe also tells Tabitha that he’s starting to fall for her. Tab wants nothing more than to tell someone her secret, but who can she tell? Her best friend who would disapprove of the whole thing? Her admittedly cool parents? There’s no one Tab can talk to. Until she stumbles across Life by Committee. On LBC, Tabitha can finally share her secret. But there is one catch, for every secret she shares, she has to complete an assignment. If doesn’t complete her assignment before the deadline, her secrets will be revealed. Completing the assignments, Tabitha feels strong and brave. But what if it goes too far?

Life by Committee was an interesting read for me. For one thing, I started reading the book before I left for BEA, got about 100 pages in and then left for a week. And then I picked it back up when I got back. Because of that, I almost had to get into the story twice. But in a way it worked for me. I don’t really know how to explain it, but it did. And then, as I’ve mentioned before, there was the fact that I had completely the wrong idea about this book. For whatever reason, I thought Life by Committee was going to be something completely different. If I’m being honest, what I thought it was going to be didn’t really make much sense so I’m really happy with what the story ended up being. There were so many things about this story that intrigued. Just the whole concept of the Life by Committee website was fascinating to me. The idea that you would willingly share your secrets with people who will basically make it a point to blackmail you with them if you don’t do what they say. And while I wouldn’t personally get involved in something like that, I could see why the people who were on the site were there, and why, ultimately, Tabitha went there. Even if I also had some issues with Tabitha herself, but I’ll get to that in a moment. I guess my one gripe with the book was how it all ended. Don’t get me wrong, I loved how it all worked itself out. I just wish I could have seen more of what happens after everything goes down. And that has to do with some of the people involved.

I’ll admit that it didn’t take long for me to really like Tabitha. But it also didn’t take long for me to get annoyed with her. So while reading, I was kinda conflicted. I could see so much greatness in Tabitha, but at the same time, the more I read the more I grew frustrated with her because I could see right through everything Joe was saying to her. And I’m not going to lie, I got more than a little annoyed at the whole cheating part of things. But eventually it did work itself out and I totally get that Tab had to go through that in order to come out stronger and better. When she finally got it, I was back with the Tabitha love. The people who really stole the show, though, were Tabitha’s parents, Cate and Paul. So often in YA novels, parents tend to be conveniently absent. But it wasn’t the case here. I loved Cate and Paul. They weren’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination (I mean, Paul is a stoner) but they were there for their daughter when she needed them to be and I appreciated that so much. And that brings me to the one person I wish I could have seen more of, Devon. It seemed at times that so much of Tabitha’s backstory revolved around him, especially the fallout with her former friends, and yet I feel like I only got a few brief glimpses of Devon. Sure, I really liked those glimpses, but I just wish I could have seen more. 

Overall, Corey Ann Haydu’s Life by Committee is a book I really enjoyed. Though there were some aspects of the story I had my issues with, they didn’t stop me from turning pages faster and faster to see what would happen next. If you’re looking for your next contemporary read, then Life by Committee might be something you want to pick up.

Waiting on Wednesday (84)

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 reading.

THIS WEEK'S PICK:
KISS KILL VANISH BY JESSICA MARTINEZ

Valentina Cruz no longer exists.

One moment, she was wrapped in Emilio's arms, melting into his kiss. The next, she was witnessing the unthinkable: a murder in cold blood, ordered by her father and carried out by her boyfriend. When Emilio pulled the trigger, Valentina disappeared. She made a split second decision to shed her identity and flee her life of privilege, leaving the glittering parties and sultry nightlife of Miami far behind. 

She doesn't know how to explain to herself what she saw. All she knows now is that nothing she believed about her family, her heart, or Emilio's love was real.

She can change her name and deny her past, but Valentina can't run from the truth. The lines between right and wrong, and trust and betrayal, will be blurred beyond recognition as she untangles the deceptions of the two men she once loved and races to find her own truth.

I've read some of Jessica Martinez's other books and really enjoyed them, so I was really excited when I first heard about Kiss Kill Vanish. It's definitely different from her other books, but it sounds really awesome all the same. I can't wait to see how this will all play out and it definitely sounds like a story that will be filled with action and mystery. I can't wait!

Kiss Kill Vanish by Jessica Martinez will be published October 7, 2014 by Katherine Tegen Books.

Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

Title: Incarnate (Newsoul #1)

Author: Jodi Meadows

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Release Date: January 31, 2012

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

NEWSOUL

Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.

NOSOUL

Even Ana's own mother thinks she's a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she'll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?

HEART

Sam believes Ana's new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only one, and will Ana's enemies--human and creature alike--let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else's life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all? 

Jodi Meadows expertly weaves soul-deep romance, fantasy, and danger into an extraordinary tale of new life.

Like many books in my house, Incarnate had been sitting unread on my shelves for a long time. But book club made it so I finally had to read it, and I found myself pleasantly surprised. Though I wasn't sold on the premise when I first started reading, but the end I was totally loving Incarnate.

Ana isn't like everyone else. She hasn't lived through hundreds of lifetimes and reincarnations. When Ana was born, a soul mysteriously disappeared, and no one really knows or understands how Ana came to be. Her whole life, people have been afraid of her, afraid of what her existence might mean for everyone else in Range. Determined to finally get some answers about who she is, Ana travels to the city of Heart. But there are some obstacles along the way, and there are many people who want to stop her. Sam, though, is willing to stand up for her, to do what it takes to convince everyone that Ana's soul is good. And with Sam by her side, Ana is ready to take on anything.

I'll admit I wasn't completely sold on the premise of Jodi Meadows' Incarnate, but after hearing a lot of positive things about the book I decided to buy a copy anyway. And then it sat on my self, unread, for the better part of the last two years because I pretty much forgot about it. But my book club chose it as one of our books and I was finally reading Incarnate. And the more I read, the more the premise grew on me, until I was completely engrossed in the story. The way Jodi Meadows tackled the topic of reincarnation was really interesting and I was fascinated. In this world, a finite set of souls keeps getting reincarnated over and over again, well at least until Ana comes along. That means that everyone has known each other and been together pretty much since the beginning of time. So basically, in one lifetime you might be paired off with the person who was your "parent" or your "child" in a previous lifetime. That aspect of it all really made me think and that's ultimately made me really like Incarnate. It got me thinking all philosophically about it all and I loved it. And the most interesting aspect was how Ana fit into all of this.

Ana was an interesting character on more than one level. On one level, Ana herself made me want to root for her. I wanted her to find out who she was an how she fit into Range. I wanted people to come around to her side, and I wanted her to get what she wanted as far as Sam was concerned. Because Sam was kinda perfect for Ana and in my opinion they just needed to be together. On a different level, Ana was interesting as a piece of the world she lived in. In the world of Incarnate, Ana is what upset the status quo. In a world that had been the same for thousands of years, Ana was unexpected and she altered the basic functioning of her society. Again, this was all just interesting to think about and made the story that much more engaging.

Had I known how much I would enjoy Jodi Meadows' Incarnate, I would have read it sooner. But as they say, hindsight is 20/20. This was s tory that had the kind of romance I love, and a world that fascinated me and had me thinking long after I was finished reading. If you haven't already given Incarnate a chance, I strongly urge you to do so.

Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Title: Allegiant (Divergent #3)

Author: Veronica Roth

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Release Date: October 22, 2013

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository

The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered--fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she's known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobia will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories. 

But Tris's new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths chance the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature--and of herself--while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love.

Told from a riveting dual perspective, Allegiant, by #1 New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth, brings the Divergent series to a powerful conclusion while revealing the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent. 

SPOILERS AHEAD, KEEP READING AT YOUR OWN RISK!

I was away from home when Allegiant was released. I had to wait a week in order to be able to read the book, and as a result, all I saw were people freaking out over the end. And that made me beyond nervous to read Allegiant. But I should have just trusted that Veronica Roth knew what she was doing.

Showing the video was supposed to change things. It was supposed to help get the city back. But Tris soon discovers that she may never get her city back. Now that the Factionless have taken over Chicago, there is very little Tris and Tobias can do to fight back. There only hope is to set foot outside the fence, to discover what really lies outside the city limits. But what Tris and Tobias find outside the fence is even more troubling than what they left behind in the city. Now it's up to Tris and Tobias to make impossible choices, ones that will change everything forever.

BE WARNED, THIS REVIEW WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS. IF YOU DON'T WANT THE END OF THE TRILOGY SPOILED, I STRONGLY RECOMMEND YOU STOP READING NOW.

There's so much that can be said about Allegiant and I'll try my best not to ramble too much. Here's the thing, there's only so many ways this story could have gone that would have made sense and that would have resulted in a satisfying ending. From the start, I knew that it would be a painful story to read. Not because it would be a bad story or because it was poorly written, but because I knew what had to happen…or at least I had some inkling of it. It didn't help that I had witness all the uproar over the ending for an entire week before I was able to read Allegiant. So I was majorly apprehensive and maybe a little scared when I started reading. But I really shouldn't have been. As much as there were moments when my heart was ripped to pieces, I knew why it was happening, and that it would be for the greater good (not that it made it any less painful). And that brings me to the ending of the story. Veronica Roth knew what she was doing when she wrote Allegiant. In hindsight, the alternating points of view between Tris and Tobias should have been a big tip-off as to what would happen (or that line about Tobias having found someone he was terrified of losing--maybe I was just in denial about what had to happen). But it still hurt when it came down to it and all of a sudden there was only one point of view left. But if you want my honest opinion, I don't think that the story could have ended any other way. Don't get me wrong, I was bawling when Tris was killed. But it wouldn't have worked any other way. Knowing what I knew about Tris, I would have been more frustrated if Tris had let Caleb go and sacrifice himself (not that I've forgiven Caleb for what he's done). In ending the story this way, Veronica Roth was true to her story and true to her characters. Yeah, it was painful (ask my roommate, she found me crying in the kitchen over breakfast while I was reading), but it was a satisfying ending, one that showed me that there was still hope for the characters. And it was finally a story with an epilogue that didn't piss me off.

I've loved Tris from the start. Even when it didn't seem like it, she was the strongest more courageous person in that story. In Allegiant, that strength and that courage shone through. Admittedly, that's especially through in hindsight. And though I love Tris for that courage and strength, there were still moments where I wanted to smack some sense into her. But she wouldn't have been the Tris I knew and loved if she hadn't been that person who was both selfish and selfless, who sometimes could have used someone to talk some sense into her. And that was especially true in the moment when she made the decision to sacrifice herself in Caleb's place (admittedly, I'm still not sure if that was Tris being selfish or selfless, to be honest). What I loved about Allegiant though, was getting to be inside Tobias's head. I found it so interesting to see that more often than not, he wasn't that strong and powerful leader everyone saw him as. I could tell that there were many times when he was still that younger boy being abused by his father. And in those moments, I just wanted to hug Tobias. And reading Tris's death from his perspective simply broke my heart. The way he just shut down. But I was also happy to see that he was able to start to move on, knowing that the pain would never go away but that it could eventually become easier. The person that surprised me the most in Allegiant was actually Peter. Before this book, I always saw him as a sociopath who cared about no one and nothing but himself. But in Allegiant I was able to see a different side of him, and find out that he knew he had a tendency to be a despicable human being and hated himself for it. I just found that aspect of his personality to be so different from what I expected, and it surprised me. And the same can be said about a lot of the other characters in Allegiant.

This is my very long-winded way of saying that, despite what a lot of people have thought, I might actually have loved Allegiant. I loved that Veronica Roth wasn't afraid of making choices for her story and her characters that not everyone would like. Allegiant really couldn't really have gone any other way. It was a powerful story, one that at times broke my heart and left me in tears, but it was also the satisfying ending I was hoping for.

Pretty Girl-13 by Liz Coley

Title: Pretty Girl-13

Author: Liz Coley

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Release Date: March 19, 2013

Source: ARC from blogger meet up

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository

Reminiscent of the Elizabeth Smart case, Pretty Girl-13 is a disturbing and powerful psychological mystery about a girl who must piece together the story of her kidnapping and captivity.

Angie Chapman was thirteen years old when she ventured into the woods along on a Girl Scouts camping trip. Now she's returned home…only to find that it's three years later and she's sixteen--or at least that's what everyone tells her.

What happened to the past three years of her life?

Angie doesn't know.

But there are people who do--people who could tell Angie every detail of her forgotten time, if only they weren't locked inside her mind. With a tremendous amount of courage, Angie embarks on a journey to discover the fragments of her personality, otherwise known as her "alters." As she unearths more and more about her past, she discovers a terrifying secret and must decide: When you remember things you wish you could forget, do you destroy the parts of yourself that are responsible?

Liz Coley's alarming and fascinating psychological mystery is a disturbing--and ultimately empowering page-turner about accepting our whole selves, and the healing power of courage, hope and love.

I love a good psychological thriller as much as the next person and that's exactly what I got with Liz Coley's Petty Girl-13. The story was completely different than what I thought it was going to be, but that it was different is probably what made it so I enjoyed it as much as I did. 

The last thing Angie remembers is leaving her tent to go to the bathroom when she was 13 on a girl scout camping trip. Now, 16 years olds, she finally finds her way home after having been missing for three years. Except she doesn't remember how she got there or what happened during the last three years of her life. Despite being 16, Angie still thinks she is 13 years old, same as she was when she went missing. While trying to piece together what happened during those years, Angie discovers more than she bargained for. Will she be able to handle it all? Or is she simply better not knowing what happened?

As much as I love happy and fun stories with happy endings when I read, my TV viewing habits tend to line up more with what I got in Liz Coley's Pretty Girl-13. When it comes to TV I am a sucker for anything involving a mystery, all the best if there's a psychological aspect to it all. So Pretty Girl-13 was perfect for me in that sense. I will admit, however, that I was a little hesitant to read it. As much as I love this stuff on a screen, when it's in a book my overactive brain tends to take things entirely too far so I started worrying what this book would do to my own mental wellness. But I shouldn't have worried, because Pretty Girl-13 was more about the aftermath of the kidnapping and return than it was about the time in captivity. And based on the flashbacks I saw, I don't think I would have been able to handle the whole book that way. The story that Liz Coley wrote ended up fascinating me completely. I absolutely loved the psychological aspect of the story, the way that the story was basically built around Angie's trauma and how it affected her mentally just fascinated me…though I'm not too sure what that actually says about me.

The story was basically around Angie. Sure there were other people around, but at this point, half of those people are actually different versions of Angie, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Angie was an interesting character. I can't even begin to imagine what she's gone through and what she had to do to cope with it all. And I can't even begin to imagine what it must be like to come back after having been missing for three years, not remembering a single thing of that time. So that made her interesting. But what interested me even more than Angie, was the different identities she had created for dealing with her trauma. As much as what some of these identities revealed was traumatizing, I sort of wish I could have seen more of them, what they experienced (again, not sure what that says about me). What did surprise me about the story was that despite all this trauma, there was still some romance. But it was a romance that worked in the context of the story. It was about Angie finding someone who really cared about her and wouldn't push to do anything she didn't want to do. And I appreciated that considering everything Angie went through.

Liz Coley's Pretty Girl-13 was more than I could have asked for. It's a dark story, but it's also a story that is fascinating and will mess with your mind. It might even traumatize you at times. If you think you can handle it, then I would strongly recommend giving Pretty Girl-13 a chance.

The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider

Title: The Beginning of Everything

Author: Robyn Schneider

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Release Date: August 27, 2013

Source: ARC from BEA

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository

Golden boy Ezra Faulkner believes everyone has a tragedy waiting for them--a single encounter after which everything that really matters will happen. His particular tragedy waited until he was primed to lose it all: in one spectacular night, a reckless driver shatters Ezra's knee, his athletic career, and his social life.

No longer a front-running for Homecoming King, Ezra finds himself at the table of misfits, where he encounters new girl Cassidy Thorpe. Cassidy is unlike anyone Ezra's ever met, achingly effortless, fiercely intelligence, and determined to bring Ezra along on her endless adventures.

But as Ezra dives into his new studies, new friendships, and new love, he learns that some people, like books, are easy to misread. And now he must consider: if one's singular tragedy has already hit and everything after it has mattered quite a bit, what happens when more misfortune strikes?

Robyn Schneider's The Beginning of Everything is a lyrical, witty, and heart-wrenching novel about how difficult it is to play the part that people expect, and how new beginnings can stem from abrupt and tragic endings.

Robyn Schneider's debut, The Beginning of Everything, has been on my radar for so long that I was worried it couldn't possibly live up to my expectations. But I really didn't have anything to worry about. Because not only did it meet my crazy expectations, it completely surpassed them.

Ezra Faulkner knows more than anyone how one moment can completely change your life. Back at school for his senior year after having spent the summer recovering from injuries sustained in a car accident, Ezra doesn't know who he is and where he fits in anymore. Before the accident, Ezra was the golden boy. Now? Who knows. But there might be a silver lining to it all. If the accident hadn't happened, Ezra wouldn't have reconnected with Toby and he wouldn't have met Cassidy Thorpe. And without Cassidy, Ezra wouldn't have fallen in love.

I had so many hopes and dreams for The Beginning of Everything. I had talked this book up so much in my mind that I was almost afraid to read it. I was afraid it couldn't possibly live up to those hopes and dreams. But I really shouldn't have worried because Robyn Schneider and her story completely blew me away. In The Beginning of Everything, she wrote this absolutely amazing story that fully captured my attention and stole my heart. I have so much love for this book and its characters. This is a unique, special and incredibly touching story. As much as it made me smile and laugh, it also brought tears to my eyes and broke my heart. And that just made me love the story that much more. To the point that putting it all into words is proving to be quite difficult. And then, you know, there was Ezra.

How do I even begin to describe Ezra. No matter what I say or do, I just know that I'm not going to even come close to doing him justice. Ezra Faulkner stole my heart, there is no doubt about it. Right from page one I knew this would happen and there was still nothing I could do about it. I wanted the best for Ezra and at times I just wanted to give him a hug and tell him everything would be okay. But Ezra wasn't the only amazing character in this story. The secondary characters were all unique and memorable in their own way. Whether it was Toby's bow-ties, Austin's attachment to his electronics or Cassidy's crazy outfits, each character had something that made it so I wouldn't forget them any time soon.

In case it wasn't obvious: I have so much love for Robyn Schneider's The Beginning of Everything. It was so much more than I hoped it would. And it's books like The Beginning of Everything that are the reason I love contemporary stories as much as I do.

Waiting on Wednesday (71)

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 I have two contemporary titles I am particularly looking forward to reading.

Wild Awake by Hilary T. Smith

May 28th, 2013

Katherine Tegen Books

Things you earnestly believe will happen while your parents are away:

1. You will remember to water the azaleas.

2. You will take detailed, accurate messages.

3. You will call your older brother, Denny, if even the slightest things goes wrong.

4. You and your best friend/bandmate Lukas 

5. Amid the thrill of victory, Lukas will finally realize you are the girl of his dreams.

Things that actually happen:

1. A stranger calls who says he knew your sister.

2. He says he has her stuff.

3. What stuff? Her stuff.

4. You tell him your parents won't be able to--

5. Sukey died five years ago; can't he--

6. You pick up a pen.

7. You scribble down the address.

8. You get on your bike and go.

9. Things…get a little crazy after that.*

*also, you fall in love, but not with Lukas.

Both exhilarating and wrenching. Hilary T. Smith's debut novel captures the messy glory of being alive, as seventeen-year-old Kiri Byrd discovers love, loss, chaos, and murder woven into a summer of music, madness, piercing heartbreak, and intoxicating joy.

It wasn't until a few weeks ago that I first heard about Wild Awake, but ever since hearing about it, I can't help but be excited about this book. If you read my post on contemporary books you will know that I absolutely love them so all these awesome sounding contemporaries are perfect for me!

Severed Heads, Broken Hearts by Robyn Schneider

June 4th, 2013

Katherine Tegen Books

Golden boy Ezra Faulkner believes everyone has a tragedy waiting for them--a single encounter after which everything that really matters will happen. His particular tragedy waited until he was primed to lose it all: in one spectacular night, a reckless driver shatters Ezra's knee, his athletic career, and his social life.

No longer a front-runner for Homecoming King, Ezra finds himself at the table of misfits, where he encounters new girl Cassidy Thorpe. Cassidy is unlike anyone Ezra's ever met, achingly effortless, fiercely intelligent, and determined to bring Ezra along on her endless adventures.

But as Ezra drives into his new studies, new friendships, and new love, he learns that some people, like books, are easy to misread. And now he must consider: if one's singular tragedy has already hit and everything after it has mattered quite a bit, what happens when more misfortune strikes?

Robyn Schneider's Severed Heads, Broken Hearts is a lyrical, witty, and heart-wrenching novel about how difficult it is to play the part that people expect, and how new beginnings can stem from abrupt and tragic endings. 

Again, another contemporary that I can't help but be excited about. Severed Heads, Broken Hearts sounds like a really fantastic story so I can't help but be excited about it. Plus, from what I've heard, it's just as good as it sounds. 

It feels like 2013 may be the year that the contemporaries are making a comeback. I've heard of so many great contemporary reads coming out later this year and I can't help but be excited about them. If you ask me, the more contemporaries, the better! 

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Title: Insurgent (Divergent #2)

Author: Veronica Roth

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Release Date: May 1, 2012

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository

One choice can transform you--or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves--and herself--while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors, War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable--and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose doing so.

New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian Divergent series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature.

I have been waiting to read Insurgent be Veronica Roth ever since I read the final page of Divergent last year. Since I loved Divergent, I was a little worried about Insurgent despite eagerly awaiting it. Well it didn't disappoint, and if anything I liked Insurgent even more than Divergent.

Still recovering from the simulation attack masterminded by the Erudite, Tris is trying to figure out a way to prevent another faction from being massacred the way Abnegation was. But with Dauntless split, that may be easier said than done. But there might be more to what the Erudite are up to, especially when it becomes clear they're going after people who are Divergent. And that includes Tris and Four. But Tris won't go down without a fight and won't hesitate to make sacrifices, including sacrificing herself. Except that first, Tris has to figure out who she can trust.

Before I say anything else, let me just apologize if the rest of my review is slightly incoherent. Putting all my feelings for Insurgent into words may be somewhat difficult. So. Saying I loved Insurgent doesn't even begin to describe how I felt while reading the book. With the second book in a series, I'm alway sa little worried that it won't be as good as the first. With Insurgent, I was blown away. Veronica Roth didn't waste any time getting to the action, and right form page one I was dragged into it with the characters. And from then on, the action didn't let up and there was always something happening. And throughout there were plenty of twists that I definitely didn't see coming. And the ending, while it wasn't a cliffhanger in the traditional sense, definitely left basically begging for more.

What I love about the characters in this series is that they all have a tendency to be quite unpredictable and put themselves in tricky situations. Tris is the expert in doing this if only because she is always willing to sacrifice everything to help the people she cares about. That makes it so Four is often forced into similar situations. But at the end of the day Tris and Four are good for each other and their relationship feels completely real because it isn't perfect. They argue and fight but at the end of the day, they go back to each other. In terms of other characters, there were some that took me by surprise a lot more than others, one in particular completely blindsided me. As in, I didn't see it coming AT ALL. But it's hard t say anything else without spoling it, so I'll leave it at that.

If you loved Divergent, you won't be disappointed by Insurgent, you might even find yourself loving it more than the first book. Veronica Roth more than hit the mark with this sequel and once again, she leaves you begging for more. At least, that's how I felt with I finished read Insurgent.