The New Guy (and Other Senior Year Distractions) by Amy Spalding

Title: The New Guy (and Other Senior Year Distractions)

Author: Amy Spalding

Publisher: Poppy

Release Date: April 5, 2016

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

A ridiculously cute, formerly-famous new guy dropping into your life? It’s practically every girl’s dream.

But not Jules McCallister-Morgan’s.

I realize that on paper I look like your standard type-A, neurotic, overachiever. And maybe I am. But I didn’t get to be the editor of my school’s long-revered newspaper by just showing up*. I have one main goal for my senior year—early acceptance into my first choice Ivy League college—and I will not be deterred by best friends, moms who think I could stand to “live a little,” or boys.

At least, that was the plan before I knew about Alex Powell**.

And before Alex Powell betrayed me***.

I know what you’re thinking: Calm down, Jules. But you don’t understand. This stuff matters. This is my life. And I’m not going down without a fight.

—

*Okay, I sort of did. But it’s a sore subject.

**I mean, I guess everyone knows about Alex Powell? Two years ago, you couldn’t go anywhere without hearing about viral video boy band sensation Chaos 4 All. Two year ago, Alex Powell was famous.

***Some people think I’m overreacting. But this. Means. War.

Filled with romance, rivalry, and passive-aggressive dog walking, Amy Spalding delivers a hilariously relatable high school story that’s sure to have you falling for The New Guy.

Over the last few years, I’ve learned that I can count on Amy Spalding when I’m looking to read a fun contemporary YA romance. And out of all of her books, I think The New Guy (and Other Senior Year Distractions) might just be my favourite.

Jules McCallister-Morgan had a plan for her senior year of high school. She was going too be the editor her school paper, keep volunteering at her local dog rescue, and get in early acceptance to Brown University. What wasn’t part of her senior year plan? Alex Powell, the former boy band member who, for reasons unknown to Jules, seems to like her. Also not part of her senior year plan? TALON, the new school news broadcast. But Jules is determined to get her senior year back on track and save the school newspaper from extinction. But that’s easier said than done with all those other distractions around. Especially Alex. 

I’m not going to lie, I was surprised by The New Guy (and Other Senior Year Distractions). I mean, I’ve read Amy Spalding’s books before so I kind of knew what to expect, and I’d seen the reviews for this one and I was still surprised. What surprised me? How addicting The New Guy ended up being for me while I was reading. I pretty much read this book in one sitting. I just kept turning the pages, curious to see what would happen next, what the newspaper staff would do to retaliate against whatever prank the news show last pulled. I wanted to see what would happen to Jules and Alex. And there was a former boy-band member involved in all of this. Honestly, it was almost impossible for me not to enjoy this story so I really shouldn’t have been as surprised by the New Guy as I was. In The New Guy, Amy Spalding wrote a fun story that had me smiling and laughing as I was turning the pages, I couldn’t help myself. The New Guy just made me happy, plain and simple. 

I’m pretty sure one of the reasons I enjoyed The New Guy as much as I did was Jules. She was such a fantastic character and I loved reading this story from her perspective. I totally understood her slightly neurotic, type-A personality because I have those same tendencies. And reactions to her own thoughts about Alex? I was laughing every time. I just loved Jules, her determination to keep the newspaper alive, her misguided attempts to help Alex (even though they tended to backfire). And Alex, the new guy himself, he was pretty dreamy. I mean, he had the whole former boy band member thing going for him for sure. But there was also so much more to him than that. He was just a boy looking to have a normal high school experience after the craziness that had been the whole boy band thing. I loved seeing thing develop between Jules and Alex, the back and forth between them as they figured out how to be a couple in the middle of everything else that was happening in their lives. Beyond Alex and Jules, The New Guy also had a fantastic cast of secondary characters who all brought something to the story.

If you’re looking for a cute and fun YA contemporary romance, then Amy Spalding’ The New Guy (and Other Senior Year Distractions) is the book for you. It will keep you flipping pages while you laugh and shake your head at all of the characters antics.

Six Impossible Things by Fiona Wood

Title: Six Impossible Things

Author: Fiona Wood

Publisher: Poppy

Release Date: August 11, 2015

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

1. Kiss Estelle.

2. Get a job.

3. Cheer my mother up.

4. Try not to be a complete nerd/loser.

5. Talk to my father when he calls.

6. Figure out how to be good.

Nerd-boy Dan Cereill is not quite coping with a whole heap of problems, including a reversal of family fortune, moving, new-school hell, a mother with a failing wedding cake business, a just-out gay dad, and a massive crush on Estelle, the girl next door. His life is a mess, but for now he’s narrowed it down to just six impossible things…

In this charming story of one guy’s efforts to get it together when his life is falling apart, award-winning author Fiona Wood introduces an irresistible voice and a delightfully awkward character who is impossible to forget.

Last year, I read Fiona Wood’s Wildlife which kind of flew under the radar. It was a quiet story that I enjoyed reading and left me looking forward to reading more from this author. And along came Six Impossible Things. Much like with Fiona Wood’s other book, it was a quiet story and it was one I enjoyed reading.

Dan Cereill’s life is falling apart. His father lost the family fortune and announced he was gay, his mother is trying to make a living as a wedding cake baker and failing, and he has to start at a new school where he doesn’t know anyone…other than the girl living next door who he has a crush on despite having never talked to her. There’s a lot happening all at once, but there are six things in particular Dan thinks he can handle, no matter how impossible they might seem. And if he can do those six things then maybe he can start putting his life back together.

So here’s an interesting bit of information for those of you who are curious: though it was published after Wildlife in North America, Six Impossible Things was actually Fiona Wood’s debut novel and it features some of the main characters from Wildlife before the events that happen in Wildlife. Did that make sense? All that to say that reading Six Impossible Things AFTER Wildlife made for an interesting reading experience. Nothing was really spoiled, thought that might have more to do with me sucking at remembering details sometimes, but there were moments when I was like “Right! This is such and such from Wildlife” and then just keep on reading. If anything, it might have even made my Six Impossible Things reading experience more interesting. Beyond that, Six Impossible Things is very much a quiet story. There isn’t much that happens in terms of action and it’s instead about the journey Dan goes through as an individual between the start and end of the book. It’s about the small moments that, when they’re all put together, help you move on when you feel like everything around you is falling apart. And all things considering, Dan does a pretty good job figuring it out.

When I started reading Six Impossible Things I wasn’t entirely sure about how I was going to feel about Dan. And that’s because of his age. I sometimes get nervous when reading younger YA. I’m never sure how certain topics are going to be tackled or if the story will feel realistic for the age of the character. But I didn’t have to worry about anything in this particular case. Dan felt like an almost-fifteen-year-old and the story felt right for him. Dan had a unique voice, and told his story in a way that was entirely his own. And he made me smile, just as much as sometimes he was totally pulling on my heartstrings. And joining Dan was a great cast of supporting characters, from his mother trying to make a living baking wedding cakes but turns all potential clients off of marriage to Estelle, the girl next door he’s crushing on and may have possibly accidentally stalked. So yeah, there were definitely some interesting situations in this book, but they were a lot of fun.

I really enjoyed Fiona Wood’s Six Impossible Things. Much like her with Wildlife, it feels like it has so far flown under the radar. If you’re looking for a quieter YA with a grate male narrator, this is the book for you.

The Road to You by Alecia Whitaker

Title: The Road to You (Wildflower #2)

Author: Alecia Whitaker

Publisher: Poppy

Release Date: July 14, 2015

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

The second book in the Wildflower series—full of drama, heart, and that country music spirit.

Bright lights…Screaming fans…Cute roadies…Country music sensation Bird Barrett is officially on tour. The months flash by in an exciting whirlwind, due—in no small part—to a certain dreamy lighting tech named Kai.

After the tour wraps up, Bird makes the move to LA, finding herself at the center of a trumped-up rivalry with another country music starlet she barely knows. Meanwhile, Kai’s out on tour again with an indie rock band and growing distant, and Bird has the label breathing down her neck for a new hit song. Finding true love is supposed to be inspiring, so why does penning the next great country pop ballad suddenly feel so hard?

After reading Alecia Whitaker’s Wildlfower last summer, I was surprised to hear that it was the first in a series but I was also curious to see where the story would go. And being the sucker for contemporary stories and country music that I am, I really enjoyed reading The Road to You.

Bird Barrett is getting use to life in the spotlight. After the success of her first album, Bird is getting ready to head out on the road, joining the tour of a country music legend. She couldn’t be any more excited about it. To make things even better, there’s Kai, the cute roadie who seems to want to spend just as much time with her as she does with him. It’s the perfect summer. But once the tour is over, Bird struggles with writing for her next album, constantly fighting writer’s block. And it doesn’t help that Kai is across the country on another tour. What had felt so easy when they were on the road together now becomes a struggle. Falling in love should be inspiring Bird, but she just can’t seem to pour her heart out in a song the way she wants to.

As much as I enjoyed the story when I read Wildflower last year, I couldn’t help but think that parts of the story fell a little flat for me. So I was a little apprehensive going into The Road to You but I was curious to see where the story would go. And I was curious to see how the romance would play out since that was one of my main disappointments with the first book. Where, for me, the romance fell flat in Wildflower, I was satisfied with it in The Road to You. Though I didn’t always think that Bird was in the best relationship, I bought into the romance and it was fully fleshed out. Outside the romance, I loved getting to explore the country music world some more though Bird’s experience. Seeing her figure out the ins and outs of being a celebrity made for a story that was both fun and touching. Of course, that had a lot to do with Bird and everything she went through over the course of the story.

Bird was just as likeable in The Road to You as she was in Wildflower. She was still working on adjusting to her success and fame but she still felt like the same Bird that I met at the beginning of the first book. Granted, there were moments when, much like her parents, I kinda wanted to yell at her because some of her decisions were kind of questionable. But she’s still learning, and she seemed to have it more or less figured out by the end of the book. And then there was Kai, who I wasn’t sure whether or not he would end up being one of those questionable decisions. At first, I was all for Kai and Bird together, but then I wasn’t sure he was the best person for her. It always felt like Bird could never really be herself around him. So even though he wasn’t in this story quite as much, I’m still rooting for Adam if Bird has to be with someone. Everything just seemed easy when she was with him and he seems to really care about her. So I’m keeping my fingers crossed that something may happen with them in the next book in the series.

I really enjoyed Alecia Whitaker’s The Road to You, even more so than I did Wildflower. I look forward to seeing what the story will bring in the final book in this series. 

A Million Miles Away by Lara Avery

Title: A Million Miles Away

Author: Lara Avery

Publisher: Poppy

Release Date: July 7, 2015

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

Perfect for fans of Nicholas Sparks, this breathtaking story of love and loss is guaranteed to break your heart and sweep you off your feet.

When high school Kelsey’s identical twin sister, Michelle, dies in a car crash, Kelsey is left without her other half. The only person who doesn’t know about the tragedy is Michelle’s boyfriend, Peter, recently deployed to Afghanistan. But when Kelsey finally connects with Peter online, she can’t bear to tell him the truth. Active duty has taken its toll, and Peter, thinking that Kelsey is Michelle, says that seeing her is the one thing keeping him alive. Caught up in the moment, Kelsey has no choice: She lets Peter believe that she is her sister.

As Kelsey keeps up the act, she crosses the line from pretend to real. Soon, Kelsey can’t deny that she’s falling, hard, for the one boy she shouldn’t want. 

Sometimes, you read the synopsis for a book and you’re intrigued by the premise. You’re curious about what the story is about, but at the same time you aren’t exactly sure how it’s going to work out or how the author is going to be able to pull it off. That’s exactly how I felt about Lara Avery’s A Million Miles Away, but for me, it totally worked.

Despite being identical twins, Kelsey and Michelle couldn’t be more different. But they have always been two halves of a whole. When Michelle dies in a car accident, Kelsey isn’t sure who she’s supposed to be anymore. The one thing she knows is that she has to tell Peter, her sister’s recently deployed boyfriend, that Michelle is dead. But when she finds herself face to face with Peter on Skype and he mistakes her for Michelle, she can’t bring herself to do it. To tell Peter that Michelle is dead would mean really losing her sister for good. So she pretends to be her sister because she doesn’t know what else to do. Before she knows it, Kelsey is falling for Peter, for the one person she shouldn’t. But she can’t help it. With everything else happening, he’s the one person who can make her feel like herself.

The thing about Lara Avery’s A Million Miles Away is that I wasn’t entirely sure how the story was going to work out. I’m all in favour of stories with cases of mistaken identity, but not when it gets to the point where one person’s feelings are getting seriously hurt or one person is getting duped. All that to say that I was a little curious about how it would all play out in A Million Miles Away. I mean, for much of the book, half of the couple doesn’t know the real identity of the person he’s with. Because that’s not a recipe for disaster. But the thing is, the more I read, the more I bought into the romance, the more I was hoping for Kelsey to find a way to make this work without completely breaking Peter’s heart and have everything fall apart. And that’s because as much as the story was about the romance between Peter and Kelsey, it was also very much about Kelsey finding herself. And for me, while I was reading, that allowed me to better understand Kelsey’s motivations when it came to misleading Peter about her identity. The one part of the story I wasn’t as big a fan of was the ending. Yes, I was happy about the way things turned out as far as the romance went, but it felt kind of precipitated. But in the grand scheme of things, it’s something I can live with.

Kelsey was an interesting character to read about. I say that because when I first met her at the beginning of the story, I kind of made assumptions about her. But then I kept reading and everything happened with Michelle and the car accident and it felt like Kelsey became a whole other person. The more I read though, the more it felt like the person Kelsey was changing into was actually who she really was. Losing her sister, the person who had defined everything she wasn’t her whole life, made it so she had to figure out who she really was. And it was interesting to see that transformation happen, to see Kelsey find herself and come into her own. And a lot of that had to do with Peter. And I loved Peter. I wish I could have seen more of him. Every time he was part of the story, it felt like it was never for long enough. And in a way, that was kind of representative of his situation, of the fact that being deployed and in a war zone meant that he never seemed to get enough time to talk to the people he cared about. But what I saw of him I loved. And I already said it and I’ll say it again, I was so hoping that he and Kelsey would find a way to make everything work out.

I really enjoyed reading Lara Avery’s A Million Miles Away. The story was emotional and hit the right notes to pull at my heartstrings. It’s not your typical romance, but it worked.

Kissing Ted Callahan (and Other Guys) by Amy Spalding

Title: Kissing Ted Callahan (and Other Guys)

Author: Amy Spalding

Publisher: Poppy

Release Date: April 7, 2015

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist meets Easy A in this hilariously realistic story of sneaking out, making out, and playing in a band.

After catching their bandmates in a compromising position, sixteen-year-old Los Angelenos Riley and Reid become painfully aware of the romance missing from their own lives. And so a pact is formed: they’ll both try to make something happen with their respective crushes and document the experiences in a shared notebook.

While Reid struggles with the moral dilemma of adopting a dog to win over someone’s heart, Riley tries to make progress with Ted Callahan, who she’s been obsessed with forever—His floppy hair! His undeniable intelligence! But suddenly cute guys are popping up everywhere. How did she never notice them before?! With their love lives going from 0 to 60 in the blink of an eye, Riley and Reid realize the results of their pact may be more than they bargained for.

Cute romances that get compared to Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist and Easy A automatically get added to my TBR. Ad to that a blurb by Stephanie Perkins and I am sold. And that’s how Amy Spalding’s Kissing Ted Callahan (and Other Guys) found itself on my radar.

Until Riley and Reid caught their bandmates in a compromising positions, neither one of them thought much about their lack of experience when it comes romance. Now, both of them decide that it’s time to do something about it. Together, Riley and Reid make a decision: they are both going to put themselves out there and document the results in a shared notebook, that way they can both learn from the experience. But things don’t exactly go as planned. Reid ends up with a new dog while Riley is struggling to make progress with longtime crush Ted Callahan. Instead she finds herself with two other prospects. And before either one knows what’s happening, Riley and Reid’s love life take off in a way they never planned.

I remembered when I first heard about Amy Spalding’s Kissing Ted Callahan (and Other Guys) and immediately wanting to read it. Fast-forward a few months when people start reading it, and all the reviews coming in were just making me want to read the book that much more. So I was excited when I finally got a copy for the book. And I had certain expectations when I started reading. And I’ll be honest and say that those expectations weren’t fully met. I definitely got a really fun story. I got sucked in right away, curious to see where their plan would lead Reid and Riley and what kinds of situations they would get into. I also really enjoyed the way the story itself was told, split between chapters from Riley’s perspectives and excerpts from the notebook they shared their experiences in. Most of the time, those notebook excerpts were from Reid’s perspective so it was really great to get some insight into his character as well. What I wasn’t completely sold on, was the romance, which makes me a little sad because that’s a part of the story I had definitely been looking forward to. By the end of the story, I was a little more on board with it, but there was a large portion of the book I wasn’t sure what to make of it.

As much as I might have had my issues with the romance throughout the story, I really liked Riley. Her voice was great. I loved reading about her slight neuroses when it came to figuring out what exactly was happening (or not happening) in her love life. She was just a really fun character to read about and she was the perfect voice for this story. It was fun to see her with the different guys she went out with, and her passion when it came to music. The one aspect of Riley’s character I struggled with for a while was her feelings for Ted Callahan. For a while, I just didn’t really get it. I mean, Ted seemed like a nice enough guy, but compared to the way Riley would talk about Milo and Garrett, the other two guys she ended up going out with, I just couldn’t seem to understand the obsession with Ted. And maybe that was sort of the point? That it started out more as an obsession than feelings based on actual interactions with the person. The more I read, I the more I got on board with the relationship between Riley and Ted because I could see her realizing that she was going from being “obsessed” with someone form afar and actually liking them from who they are. But even by the end of the book, I still felt like I was only just getting a handle on who Ted was and I would have wanted to find out more about him. And maybe that’s it, I feel like I didn’t get to know Ted enough for me to really fall for him the way Riley does.

Amy Spalding’s Kissing Ted Callahan (and Other Guys) was a fun and quick read. Though it wasn’t quite the story I hoped it was going to be, I still found myself enjoying the story as I was reading it. 

Love, Lucy by April Lindner

Title: Love, Lucy

Author: April Lindner

Publisher: Poppy

Release Date: January 27, 2015

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

While backpacking through Florence, Italy, during the summer before she heads off to college, Lucy Sommersworth finds herself falling in love with the culture, the architecture, the food…and Jesse Palladino, a handsome street musician. After a whirlwind romance, Lucy returns home, determined to move on from her “vacation flirtation.” But just because summer is over doesn’t mean Lucy and Jesse are over, too.

In this coming-of-age romance, April Lindner perfectly captures the highs and lows of a summer love that might just be meant to last beyond the season.

I haven’t read any of April Lindner’s previous novels, but when I heard about Love, Lucy, I knew it had to go on my TBR. I mean, a contemporary romance partially set in Italy? Yes, please! As it turned out, it was the perfect, fun read I was looking for, and in the process gave me a major case of wanderlust.

Lucy made a deal with her dad: she would go to his alma mater and give up acting in exchange for a summer spent backpacking through Europe. When she gets to Italy, Lucy falls in love. She falls in love with the history, the culture, the art, everything around her. What she didn’t expect to fall in love with, or more specifically who she didn’t expect to fall in love with, is Jesse, the street musician whose room she steals in the hostel. During those last few days in Florence and Rome, Lucy and Jesse have a whirlwind romance. But when Lucy returns home, she’s ready to put her trip behind her and start university. Though as much as she tries, she can’t seem to stop thinking about Jesse, about the few days they spent together in Italy. Could it have been more than just a holiday fling?

I am an absolute and total sucker for any story that involves summer, romance and travel. With April Lindner’s Love, Lucy I got all three and it made for a story I highly enjoyed. In all honesty, I didn’t really know all that much about the book before I started reading. I had a vague idea that it involved a trip to Italy and a holiday romance, but that’s pretty much all I knew. But once I started reading, I was hooked. If only because of all the descriptions of Florence. I’ve been fortunate enough to have gone to Florence twice before and reading the descriptions of the city, it was like I was transported back there. I could picture it all. And it made me want to go back there like you wouldn’t believe. The same thing can be said for the descriptions of Rome. Though I may be going there soon, so that desire to go back will be satisfied. Beyond the beautiful setting, what I liked about the story in Love, Lucy is that despite being YA, the story is set immediately after high school and during the first semester of college. In the case of this story, having it set during that time worked really well. It’s a time of change and figuring out who you are, and that’s exactly what Lucy is doing over the course of the story. Just like the synopsis says, this is a coming-of-age romance, and thanks to Lucy and Jesse it’s a pretty adorable one.

Figuring out what you want to do in college is hard. I remember when I was a senior in high school, trying to decide what I wanted to major in while I was applying to university. At the end of four years, the degree I graduated with was not the one I had thought it would be. So I could understand how Lucy was being pulled in all these different directions. How she wanted to be an actress, but at the same time had spent most of her life hearing her father talking about how much he had to work to get to where he was and that a business degree was the way to go. But the whole time I was reading, I could tell that Lucy was miserable doing what her father wanted her to do. The only time she wasn’t miserable was when she was with Jesse. Lucy and Jesse were absolutely adorable together. I loved watching them explore both Florence and Rome with each other. My only wish is that I could have found out more about Jesse. About who he was, about where he came from. I just wanted to know more about his story. But at the same time, the slight mystery around him worked well for the story, making Lucy question whether or not what she’d had with him while in Italy was real or not. 

If you’re looking to escape to Italy without breaking the bank, you should pick up Love, Lucy. Not only will you get to explore Italy with Lucy, you’ll also get and adorable romance out of it as well.

Wildlife by Fiona Wood

Title: Wildlife

Author: Fiona Wood

Publisher: Poppy

Release Date: September 16, 2014

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

During a semester in the wilderness, sixteen-year-old Sib expects the tough outdoor education program and the horrors of for life, but friendship drama and an unexpected romance with popular Ben Capaldi? That will take some navigating.

New girl Lou has zero interest in fitting in, or joining in. Still reeling from a loss that occurred almost a year ago, she just wants to be left alone. But as she witnesses a betrayal around Sib and her best friend Holly, Lou can’t help but be drawn back into the land of the living.

Fans of Melina Marchetta, Rainbow Rowell, and E. Lockhart will adore this endearing and poignant story of first love, true friendship, and going a little bit wild.

Every so often, I get really excited about a book and it feels like I'm the only one who's even heard of said book. That's kind of what happened with Fiona Wood's Wildlife. I've seen a few things here and there about the book, but for the most part I haven't heard all that much about it. In reality, lots of people should be talking about Wildlife because it was a really great read about friendship, first love and grief.

Sib isn't particularly looking forward to spending a whole semester out in the wilderness, even if it means spending a whole semester away from her family. But things are looking up after her face appears on a billboard thanks to her godmother and an unexpected kiss from popular boy Ben. Now if only she knew how to navigate her new found popularity and the potential for a first love with Ben. Lou isn't interested in fitting in at her new school, she only wants to get through this semester in the wilderness and go home. She doesn't want to get dragged into anything, but as drama starts to unfold in front of her, she can't help be drawn into it. The semester doesn't turn out anything like Lou and Sib thought it would, but they learned a lot more than they thought they would.

I feel like Fiona Wood's Wildlife has pretty much flown under the radar. Maybe it's because the book has already been out for over a year in Australia, but I just haven't heard all that much about it on this side of the world. Or maybe I just haven't been paying enough attention and people have actually been talking about Wildlife. The point I'm trying to get to here is that more people should really be talking about Wildlife because it was a great book. It focused on everything I like my contemporary stories to to focus on. There was romance, there was friendship, there was drama, there was grief. Really, this book had it all. But it didn't feel as heavy as you would think. Through it all, there was a good dose of humour, from both Sib and Lou. Each girl had their own way of telling their story and that's part of what made Wildlife so interesting to read. While parts told from Sib's point of view were written in what I would consider traditional first person narrative, the parts from Lou's perspective were written as if she were talking directly to the reader. And in a way, she was. Lou's part of the story was written as if she were writing her journal, and that journal is all about what she would be telling Fred, if she still could. There were moments when what Lou was "writing" would simply break my heart. But then a few sentences later, she would make me smile through the tears that were threatening to fall. All that to say, it was all written a way that always managed to pull at my heartstrings.

Sib and Lou were very different. For a good chunk of the story, it felt like they were complete opposites, or at the very least, that they had completely opposite goals for their semester away from home. It felt like Sib was doing whatever she could to try to fit in, to make sure she was doing the right thing so she could continue going out (or as much going out as you can do when spending a semester in the wilderness) with popular boy Ben. But it never seemed to be enough, or that's what her best friend (and I use the term loosely) Holly would lead her to believe. Sib and Holly's friendship was the definition of toxic. The whole time I was reading, I was just waiting for Sib to finally realize that the last thing Holly had in mind was Sib's best interest. On the flip side of all this, there was Lou who was pretty much determined to be a wallflower. She definitely had a lot to deal with and I loved seeing her work her way through her grief and join the world of the living again. Through it all,  I found it interesting to see that despite their different goals, Lou and Sib actually had a lot more in common than they would have originally thought. It just took them a little longer than me to realize it.

Fiona Wood's Wildlife was a different kind of book, but in the best way possible. It was a great story that dealt with all the subjects you come to expect from contemporary YA: friendship, first love, loss, and finding your way in the world, all with nature as a backdrop.

Wildflower by Alecia Whitaker

Title: Wildflower

Author: Alecia Whitaker

Publisher: Poppy

Release Date: July 1, 2014

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

The best songs come from broken hearts.

Sixteen-year-old Bird Barrett has grown up on the road, singing backup in her family’s bluegrass band, and playing everywhere from Nashville, Tennessee to Nowhere, Oklahoma. One fateful night, Bird fills in for her dad by singing lead, and a scout in the audience offers her a spotlight all her own.

Soon Bird is caught up in a whirlwind of songwriting meetings, recording sessions, and music video shoots. Her first single hits the top twenty, and suddenly fans and paparazzi are around every corner. She’s even caught the eye of her longtime crush, fellow roving musician Adam Dean. With Bird’s star on the rise, though, tradition and ambition collide. Can Bird break out while staying true to her roots?

In a world of glamour and gold records, a young country music star finds her voice.

This summer has been great for contemporary stories, and I have been reading as many as I can get my hands on. When I first heard about Alecia Whitaker’s Wildflower, I was really excited to read it. And though the story didn’t end up being what I thought it was going to be, it was still a story I really enjoyed.

Bird has always loved playing fiddle in the Barrett Family Band. For half her life, Bird has been living on the road, playing shows every night with her family’s bluegrass band. But when she sings lead one night when her father is sick, Bird’s life changes. Now that she’s officially been “discovered,” Bird finds herself going from meetings, to photo shoots and spending endless hours writing and recording new songs. But it’s what she wants. Or so Bird tells herself. As much as Bird loves being able to share her music with the world, she can’t help but feel like everything around her is changing. The Barrett Family Band is done, her brothers are thinking of going to college, and just when she thought she was going to be able to be with Adam, that changes too. While everything is changing, can Bird find a way to stay herself in a completely new world?

After having read Open Road Summer earlier this summer, I was really looking forward to reading Alecia Whitaker’s Wildflower. How could I not be? It sounded like it was going to be another story with country music and the potential for romance and that’s just what I wanted. If I’m being honest, there were certain things I expected from this story but not all those expectations were met. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed Wildflower. I loved reading about Bird navigating the world of country music and finding herself and her voice. I loved seeing all the family dynamics in the Barrett family. I loved seeing the role music played in this story, seeing how the music was tied into all aspects of the story. Where I was a little disappointed was in the romance department. From the synopsis, I’d been led to believe that romance would definitely be a part of this story, and as I started reading all signs seemed to be pointing to budding romance. But the more I kept reading, the more apparent it was becoming that the romance was falling a little bit flat. In the context of this story, the romance was not needed in the least, but it just felt like it should have been there, especially when all signs seemed to be pointing to a romance. Even though I was a little disappointed that the romance fell flat, I still really enjoyed the overall story.

I really enjoyed reading Bird’s story from her perspective. Everything that was happening to her was pretty crazy when you stop and think about it. I could tell that she was struggling with how to balance her newfound fame with the life she had before everything all became so crazy. Bird was just a very likeable character. I loved her seeing her amazement over everything that was happening to her, like even she couldn’t believe it. Most of all, though, I loved her relationships with all the other characters. I really enjoyed seeing the relationship she had with her father, how he was by her side through it all, helping her navigate everything that was happening. I also really enjoyed seeing her friendship with Stella develop in the midst of everything else that was going on. The one character I wish I could have seen more of, and this ties in to my slight disappointment with the romance, is Adam. Every time Adam made an appearance, I really enjoyed seeing him and I could tell that he was someone Bird really cared about. So if he could have been more present, I would have been a very happy reader. As it was though, I was still quite happy reading about all these characters.

Though it didn’t quite meet all my expectations, I still really enjoyed reading Alecia Whitaker’s Wildflower. It was a fun summer contemporary read and if you like those and country music, than this is the story for you.

The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith

Title: The Geography of You and Me

Author: Jennifer E. Smith

Publisher: Poppy

Release Date: April 15, 2014

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

Lucy and Owen meet somewhere between the tenth and eleventh floors of a New York City apartment building, on an elevator rendered useless by a citywide blackout. After they’re rescued, they spend a single night together, wandering the darkened streets and marvelling at the rare appearance of stars about Manhattan. But once the power is restored, so is reality. Lucy soon moves to Edinburgh with her parents, while Owen heads out west with his father.

Lucy and Owen’s relationship plays out across the globe as they stay in touch through postcards, occasional e-mails, and—finally—a reunion in the city where they first met.

A carefully charted map of a long-distance relationship, Jennifer E. Smith’s new novel shows that the center of the world isn’t necessarily a place. It can be a person, too.

I love Jennifer E. Smith’s books are some of my favourite contemporary YAs. As you can imagine, I was beyond excited about reading her latest, The Geography of You and Me and I loved every page of it. This story was exactly what I had hoped it would be, but it was also so much more. I just loved it all.

If it wasn’t for a blackout trapping them together in an elevator, Lucy and Owen may have never met. But that time spent together in the elevator, and the hours spent roaming a dark Manhattan, bring Lucy and Owen together. But once the power comes back, the two go back to their own lives, almost as if nothing happened. Owen and his father drive west and Lucy and her family move to Edinburgh. But even though they only spent those few hours together, Lucy and Owen can’t seem to stop thinking about each other. They keep in touch through postcards and a few e-mails, even meeting when the opportunity presents itself. But it’s hard to know what could happen when every meeting is so brief. Could it be that Lucy and Owen have become the center of each other’s worlds?

Jennifer E. Smith is one of those authors who is on my auto-buy list: as soon as I see her name on a book, I buy that book and read it as quickly as possible. So far she hasn’t disappointed me, and that still holds true now that I’ve read The Geography of You and Me. I loved this story so much. I loved how I got to see both what was going on with Owen and with Lucy over the course of the story, seeing how each one was basically going through a lot of the same things the other was. But more than that, I loved how the story developed over time, everything that happened wasn’t crammed in a few days or weeks, it took place almost over the course of a whole year. And I loved that this story was set all over the states, and at times, all over Europe. I’m not going to lie, as I was reading The Geography of You and Me, I got this urge to travel and see all of the places Lucy and Owen visited over the course of the story. But most of all, I loved that the whole time I was reading I just had this big, goofy smile on my face.

I loved Lucy and Owen. I mean, how could I not? Not only were they kinda perfect together, they were also these awesome individuals outside of that relationship. When I first read about Lucy, I saw a lot of myself in her. I could relate to so many aspects of her personality and so I connected with her right away. Owen I can’t really say I related to, but I was immediately drawn to him, much int eh same way that Lucy was. There was clearly a lot going on with him, and I loved peeling back the layers and finding out everything there was to know about him. And then put Lucy and Owen together, and I was a happy reader. Though it wasn’t immediately obvious that they would work together, especially when both of them immediately found someone else when they moved away from New York. But still. The more I read about them individually, the more I could see that they really belonged together. And so I just kept turning the pages to see how it would all play out. 

In case it wasn’t obvious, I seriously loved Jennifer E. Smith’s The Geography of You and Me. This is the kind of story that reminds me just why I love contemporary stories as much as I do. And if you haven’t already picked up any of Jennifer E. Smith’s books, you are seriously missing out.

Rules of Summer by Joanna Philbin

Title: Rules of Summer

Author: Joanna Philbin

Publisher: Poppy

Release Date: June 4, 2013

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository

When seventeen-year-old Rory McShane steps off the bus in East Hampton, it's as if she's entered another universe, one populated by impossibly beautiful people waring pressed khakis and driving expensive cars. She's signed on to be a summer errand girl for the Rules--a wealthy family with an enormous beachfront mansion. Upon arrival, she's warned by other staff members to avoid socializing with the family, but Rory soon learns that may be easier said than done. 

Stifled by her friends and her family's country club scene, seventeen-year-old Isabel Rule, the youngest of the family, embarks on a breathless romance with a guy whom her parents would never approve of. It's the summer for taking chances, and Isabel is brining Rory along for the ride. But will Rory's own summer romance jeopardize her friendship with Isabel? And, after long-hidden family secrets surface, will the Rules' picture-perfect world ever be the same?

Unlike a lot of people, I had never read anything by Joanna Philbin until I was offered a copy of Rules of Summer for review. But as many of you know, I am a sucker for any contemporary read, so I didn't think twice about picking it up. And just like I predicted, it was the perfect summer read and it didn't take long for me to get completely sucked in to the story. 

Rory McShane is ready for something different this summer. As she heads to East Hampton to work as an errand girl for the Rule family, she isn't sure what she should expect. Rory knows that she should just do her job and not get involved with the family she is working for. Everyone has warned her not to socialize with the Rules. But the more time she spends with certain members of the family, the harder she is finding it to stay away and just do her job. And it doesn't help when the youngest Rule, Isabel, decides that Rory is going to be the one to help her sneak around with a boy her parents would never approve of. But Isabel, isn't the only Rule Rory has been spending time with even if she knows that the more time she spends with Connor, the more she risks losing the one friend she's made in East Hampton.

I am a sucker for a good contemporary story, and I am even more of a sucker for those stories if they are summer themed. I just can't seem to stay away from them. It's like they have this special pull on me. All that to say that when I first heard what Rules of Summer was about, I knew right away that it was something I wanted to read. And so I picked it up and started reading and it wasn't all that long until the story had completely sucked me in. While reading Rules of Summer, I couldn't help but be transported to the Hamptons and the world Rory was living in for the summer. But the thing about this story is that it kind of took me by surprise at moments. Sure it wasn't the world's deepest and most complex story, but then there were moments when something more seemed to be happening. And those moments were the ones that kept me reading. It was exactly what I needed when I read it: a summer romance story filled with just the right amount of emotions and depth.

I loved that the story followed both Rory and Isabel. At the start of the story, the two girls could not have been any more different. But despite their differences, I could tell rather early on that the two would become friends. And even though I knew it would happen, it didn't stop me from enjoying seeing the way Rory and Isabel came together as friends. It was kind of gradual and unexpected--they were thrown together almost against their will but eventually they both started realizing that they were actually becoming friends. What I especially liked is that both Isabel and Rory needed the other girl, though they may not have realized it at first. And except for Connor, I had my issues with the rest of the Rule family. Mrs. Rule, though you eventually find out why she is the way she is, rubbed me the wrong way the whole time I was reading. It seemed like she couldn't accept that her children found happiness in ways that she didn't necessarily approve of for reasons that were a bit of a mystery to me. And the same kind of goes for the rest of that family. Except for Connor. Connor, I liked right from the beginning. And that's all there is to know about Connor without revealing everything.

Joanna Philbin's Rules of Summer was exactly what I was looking for. Right from the start, the story drew me in and I found myself having trouble putting the book down. If you are looking for a light and fun summer romance that will put a smile on your face, then I strongly recommend you pick up Rules of Summer. 

This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith

Title: This is What Happy Looks Like

Author: Jennifer E. Smith

Publisher: Poppy

Release Date: April 2, 2013

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository

If fate sent you an email, would you answer?

When teenage movie star Graham Larkin accidentally sends small town girl Ellie O'Neill an email about his pet pig, the two seventeen-year-olds strike up a witty and unforgettable correspondence, discussing everything under the sun, except for their names or backgrounds.

Then Graham finds out that Ellie's Maine hometown is the perfect location for his latest film, and he decides to take their relationship from online to in-person. But can a star as famous as Graham really start a relationship with an ordinary girl like Ellie? And why does Ellie want to avoid the media's spotlight at all costs?

I absolutely adored Jennifer E. Smith's The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight when I read it last year so I was very much looking forward to reading This is What Happy Looks Like. I just knew that it would be the perfect blend of serious lighthearted and serious contemporary and I absolutely loved every single page of it.

Ellie has always been perfectly happy leading a quiet life in her small hometown in Maine. But when trailers and Hollywood crowd shows up in town for a movie shoot, Ellie isn't so sure she's going to have that quiet summer she was hoping for. His recent rise to fame was never anything Graham expected. He never thought he had any talent as an actor until he kind of fell into it. Now he has the perfect reason to show up in Maine, in the town where the girl he has been emailing with lives. The only flaw in his plan is that he doesn't know the girl's name…and Ellie doesn't know it's Graham she's been emailing back and forth all this time. But when she finds out, how will Ellie deal with all the potential media attention that can come from spending so much time with Graham?

I don't think there was any way I could have not enjoyed Jennifer E. Smith's This is What Happy Looks Like. I picked it up one Saturday morning, and the next thing I new I just spent the whole day reading the book. It was simply that good. And adorable. And fun. But there were also these moments that were deeper and made me enjoy the story that much more. For the most part though, I just had this dumb smile on my face the majority of the time I was reading. I wanted the story to have a happy ending, but I wasn't always sure that would happen. And that's what kept me reading. I wanted to know what would happen to the characters I had grown surprisingly attached to. I wanted to know why Ellie's mother was so scared of her daughter being in the spotlight. At the end, it was just an adorable and perfect story, exactly what I was looking for when I picked up the book.

The relationship between Ellie and Graham was interesting. It was the kind of relationship that develops without really knowing who the other person is--and in this case it was particularly true since neither one knew the other's name. Seeing how they got to know each other through their emails was a great addition to the story in this way. But I also liked seeing them getting to know each other once they found out who the other person was. While reading, I could tell that despite all her feelings, Ellie was still hesitant when it came to Graham, she didn't know if she could handle being in the spotlight as the latest teenage heartthrob's girlfriend. And Graham, he just wanted to be able to be normal for Ellie and I loved him for it. Just seeing these two characters come together, even when it wasn't alway easy going, is what truly made this story for me.

Jennifer E. Smith's This is What Happy Looks LIke was exactly what I had hoped it would be. For an afternoon, I was transported to a small town in Maine, getting to see this relationship between Ellie and Graham evolve in ways I didn't necessarily think it would. If you are looking for a fun, quick and adorable read, then this is the book for you.

Waiting on Wednesday (70)

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.

This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith
April 2nd, 2013
Poppy

If fate sent you an email, would you answer?

When teenage movie star Graham Larkin accidentally sends small town girl Ellie O'Neill an email about his pet pig, the two seventeen-year-olds strike up a witty and unforgettable correspondence, discussing everything under the sun, except for their names or backgrounds. 

Then Graham finds out that Ellie's Maine hometown is the perfect location for his latest film, and he decides to take their relationship from online to in-person. But can a star as famous as Graham really start a relationship with an ordinary girl like Ellie? And why does Ellie want to avoid the media's spotlight at all costs?

I absolutely love Jennifer E. Smith's The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight when I read it last year. It was a fantastic contemporary read, so I can't wait for more from this author. And This is What Happy Looks Like sounds like a fun contemporary that might have something more than just fluff going on.

When You Were Here by Daisy Whitney

June 4th, 2013

Little, Brown BFYR

Filled with humor, raw emotion, a strong voice, and a brilliant dog named Sandy Koufax, When You Were Here explores the two most powerful forces known to man--death and love. Daisy Whitney brings her characters to life with a deft touch and resonating authenticity.

Danny's mother lost her five-year battle with cancer three weeks before his graduation--the one day she was hanging on to see.

Now Danny is left alone, with only his memories, his dog, and his heart-breaking ex-girlfriend for company. He doesn't know how to figure out what to do with her estate, what to say for his Valedictorian speech, let alone how to live or be happy anymore.

When he gets a letter from his mom's property manager in Tokyo, where she had been going for treatment, it shows a side of his mother he never knew. So, with no other sense of direction, Danny travels to Tokyo to connect with is mother's memory and make sense of her final months, which seemed filled with more joy than Danny ever knew. There,a kong the cherry blossoms, temples, and crowds, and with the help of an almost-but-definitely-not Harijuku girl, he begins to see how it may not have been ancient magic or mystical treatment that kept his mother going. Perhaps, the secret of how to live lies in how she died.

Daisy Whitney has yet to disappoint me with anything that she writes. I am a big fan of The Mockingbirds & The Rivals, so I am excited simply at the prospect of getting to read more of her writing. And When You Were Here sounds like a fantastic story that will no doubt be pulling at my heartstrings.

Winter White by Jen Calonita

Title: Winter White (Belles #2)

Author: Jen Calonita

Publisher: Poppy

Release Date: October 9, 2012

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository

Isabelle Scott and Mirabelle Monroe are still reeling from the revelation that they share more than just the roof over their heads. The media has pounced on their story and the girls are caught up in a flurry of talk-show appearances and newspaper interviews. They've put on a happy public face, but someone is leaking their true feelings to the press, and while it seems like the world is watching their every move, at least they have each other.

But with cotillion right around the corner, Izzie and Mira have barely had time to process their newfound sisterhood. Mira has dreamed of making her debut in a gorgeous white gown forever--now, if only she could find an escort. Izzie, meanwhile, is still struggling to find her place in Emerald Cove and it's seeming ever more impossible with EC mean-girls, young and old, doing their best to keep her down. As cotillion preparations heat up, though, there are dance steps to learn, manners to perfect…and secret initiations to complete? As if sophomore year wasn't hard enough!

It's time for the gowns to go on and the gloves to come off.

***CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST BOOK!***

When I read Jen Calonita's Belles earlier this year it took me by surprise and I loved it, so I was really looking forward to reading the sequel, Winter White. Just like with the first book, I was sucked right in to the story and I loved every page of it.

Izzie and Mira are still adjusting to the fact that they are actually sisters and not distant cousins like they thought. But surprisingly, amidst all the chaos in their lives, they discover that if nothing else, they can count on each other. But things become more complicated with cotillion right around the corner. Mira couldn't be more excited, but Izzie isn't so sure she's cut out for cotillion. Add to that the stress of potential boyfriends and their family's dirty laundry being aired out int eh media and it would be enough for anyone to go crazy over. But once again, there might be more going on than either Mira or Izzie can imagine.

I don't know what it was about the story in Jen Calonita's Winter White, but it just completely sucked me in. But based on what happened when I first read Belles, I kinda knew this was going to happen, so I made sure I had plenty of time on my hands before picking up Winter White. The great thing about the story in these books it that while reading, the story feels light and fun, But then when you look a little deeper, you realize there's a lot more going on in the story. But even with that deeper side, it doesn't feel like that story weighs you down at all. And once again, the ending left me with lots of questions that just need to be answered, though many of the ones from the previous book were answered. So you can bet that I'm eagerly awaiting the third book in this awesome contemporary series.

I loved getting to know Izzie and Mira better in this second book. For whatever reason, I feel like I can relate more to Izzie than to Mira though it probably has to do with interests more than anything. But Mira did surprise me this time around. She definitely did some growing, and I absolutely loved seeing her come into her own and realize that she was so much more than she had previously given herself credit for. And with Izzie, I really enjoyed seeing her make the Emerald Cover world her own, not by assimilating, but by bringing her own background and ideas to the table and not being afraid to stand up for what she believes in. As for the other characters, Brayden kind of exasperated me at times but I was happy to see him step up. Similarly I loved that Hayden wasn't afraid to tell his sisters off when he didn't agree with what they were doing. They are definitely great at balancing out the two girls.

Winter White was exactly what I hoped it would be. All the questions I had after having read the first book were answered, though that ending definitely left me with some more questions. April can't come soon enough so I can read the third book, The Grass Is Always Greener.

For more information on the book, be sure to check out the HBG website. 

The Boy Recession by Flynn Meaney

Title: The Boy Recession

Author: Flynn Meaney

Publisher: Poppy

Release Date: August 7, 2012

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository

Where have all the boys gone?

Down-to-earth Kelly is always the friend and never the girlfriend. But as her junior year of high school starts, Kelly is determined to finally reveal her true feelings for her long-time crush and good friend Hunter--that is, until the Boy Recession hits.

Over the past summer, and overwhelming number of male students have left Kelly and Hunter's small high school class. Some were sent to private school and others moved away. Whatever the cad,e the sudden population shift has left the already small Julius P. Heil High in desperate shape. The football coach is recruiting chess champs for his team, the principal's importing male exchange students to balance out school dances, and Hunter is about to become an unexpected heartthrob.

Content with his role as the guitar-strumming, class-skipping slacker, Hunter is unprepared to be the center of attention. Desperate coaches are recruiting him for sports teams, and the drama teacher casts him in the lead role of the school musical. Even the Spandexers, powerful popular girlsin tight pants, are noticing Hunter in a new light--with a little work, he could have potential. He might even be boyfriend material…

In order to stand out from the crowd and win Hunter's heart, Kelly needs a "stimulus package" in the form of cougar lessons from a senior girl who dates hot freshman boys and advice on the male mind from her Cosmo-addicted best friend, Aviva. As if dating wasn't hard enough without a four-to-one ratio!

When I first heard about Flynn Meaney's The Boy Recession I thought it sounded like a really interesting concept. It was something that hadn't been done before and once I started reading I found that it made for a really fun and amusing story. And once the story began, it became increasingly difficult for me to put the book down. 

Hunter has never exactly gotten that much attention from girls. For the most part, he was known as the slacker who plays guitar and the drums. But at the start of his junior year of high school, there is a massive outpour of boys, and Hunter finds himself one of the few boys left. And all of a sudden he finds himself getting a whole lot more female attention. But that doesn't mean everyone is happy. The Boy Recession isn't helping Kelly's lack of a love life. She's always had feelings for her friend Hunter. But now she has to compete with all the popular girls for his attention, and that might not work out in her favor. 

The Boy Recession was an incredibly fun story to read. I sort of knew going in to the story that it would probably lead to much smiling, if not actual laughter. And that definitely happened. Once I started reading, it didn't take very long for me to have a smile plastered on my face. The whole concept of a boy recession led to some pretty interesting situations. It's not ever day you see girls running around getting guys to sign prom contracts long before prom. So yeah, it was a fun read all around. And what was great was that the story alternated points of view so I got to see the whole thing from the perspective of both a girl and a boy. And that's why, beyond the fun concept of the story, the characters are what really made the book so fun and interesting.

While reading I got to experience the Boy Recession from both Kelly and Hunter's perspective, allowing me to see who the boys and girls each experiences the whole thing. With Hunter, I liked how it allowed him to see that he was really selling himself short. It was great to see him come out of his shell throughout the course of the story. And by the end of it, I really liked the person Hunter had become. And I'm pretty sure Kelly liked that person too. Kelly definitely also grew when it comes to self-confidence. Like with Hunter, I loved seeing the change happen in Kelly. Though the best thing about Kelly and Hunter was that they weren't the popular kids. It was a nice change of pace to have a story that focused on people who aren't part of the popular crowd.

Flynn Meaney's The Boy Recession was definitely a fun read. If you are looking for an afternoon of fun and laughter, then I strongly recommend you pick up The Boy Recession. You won't regret it.