Can't Get There from Here by Todd Strasser

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


198 pages, young adult, 30 chapters



Synopsis from Goodreads:

"Her street name is Maybe. She lives with a tribe of homeless teens — runaways and throwaways, kids who have no place to go other than the cold city streets, and no family except for one another. Abused, abandoned, and forgotten, they struggle against the cold, hunger, and constant danger.



With the frigid winds of January comes a new girl: Tears, a twelve-year-old whose mother doesn't believe Tears's stepfather abuses her. As the other kids start to disappear — victims of violence, addiction, and exposure — Maybe tries to help Tears get off the streets...if it's not already too late."



As you read about the woes of Maybe and all the members of her street family, it's hard not to appreciate what you have. She goes from sleeping in doorways, to squatting in construction sites, to sleeping under a bridge, knowing she won't have a bed to rest in. When her family slowly starts to dwindle, you can feel the hopelessness of her situation. A really great and quick read that might put the dangers of NYC into perspective.

Level of Romance :None, the characters are much too busy trying to survive until tomorrow.

Rating: 5 out of 5







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Review: Monster High by Lisi Harrison

As I am unable to come up with a good synopsis of my own, here's the one from Goodreads:

   "They prefer to call themselves RAD (Regular Attribute Dodgers), but some call them monsters. So far, the "monster" community has kept a low profile in Salem, but this year two new girls enroll at Merston High School, and the town will never be the same.

Created just fifteen days ago, Frankie Stein is psyched to trade her father's formaldehyde-smelling basement lab for parties and cheerleading. But with a student body totally freaked out by rumors of monsters who might be stalking the halls, Frankie finds that life in the "normie" world can be rough for a chic freak like her.
She thinks she finds a friend in fellow new student Melody Carver--but can a normie be trusted with her big secret?"
    I'm not gonna lie: I only picked up this book because when I saw a vampire Barbie (Draculaura) in Walmart, I was blown away. No, that is not an exaggeration. It was like someone had finally answered my dreams. And then I found out there was a book and I had to read it, even if I knew it wasn't gonna be amazing....boy, was I surprised. It turns out that the plot has a fast start and a gripping, page-turning awesome that no one could have expected. The characters are ones you'll come to love. With a great lead in to the next book, but still a satisfying ending, I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of the next book!
              256 pages, young adult
    Level of Romance: Isn't high school always about romance?
    Rating : 5 out of 5

Five Mini Reviews for your Reading Pleasure

So, instead of giving excuses for my nearly month-long absence, I'll just jump right in and say, "I'm Back!" While I may have been a little MIA, I did read, so here are the reviews that I owe you, compressed into one post. Enjoy!

   

Heaven Looks a Lot Like the Mall by Wendy Mass

Young Adult, 251 pages

When she gets into a dodge ball accident in P.E., 16 tear old Tessa finds herself in a coma-induced "heaven" that looks exactly like the mall her parents work at. She receives a bag of items that she'd bought at that mall, all of which relate to a memory. These memories will help her answer the question she's been asking herself.

   Overall, a quick, fun read written in a quirky free verse. Tessa is a sassy character that all readers will identify with. Filled mostly with memories of Tessa's past, the pages fly by.

Level of Romance: None, Tessa is too busy flipping through her memories and stuck in a coma, sooo...

Rating: 5 out of 5

 The Secret Year by Jennifer R. Hubbard

Young Adult, 192 pages

Colt and Julia were secretly together for a year. Then Julia dies, and Colt is forced to internally mourn because to the public, he didn't even know the girl he loved. He is haunted by her memory and things only get worse when her diary falls into his hands. He has to  choose between bringing himself to read the diary, reopening the wounds he'd been healing; and living without the answers that the journal could hold. Julia meant so much to him, but is it time to move on?

 Another quick read, and despite the fact that it sounds like another book revolving around a high school relationship, it's not. It's more about Colt's reaction to Julia, her absence, and knowing the rest of his life will be without Julia. But it's so much more than that. There is an element of social prejudices between the wealthy and the "poor". Most of all, it's about moving on and admitting you have to do so.

   Level of Romance: Little, Colt is trying to mend; it's more about the effects of a relationship on a person and society.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Faking 19 by Alyson Noel

Young Adult , 210 pages

Alex is a senior in high school with a daddy complex. Her best friend M suggests that they go to L.A. for the weekend to escape the boring Orange County suburbia they are normally stuck in. Partying in Los Angeles means older guys with money and glamorous jobs...plus dangerous things like drugs, drinking, and sex. Alex and M begin relationships with some boys of the less wild type, but Alex will learn not everyone is what they seem.

A good read, but often the narrator, Alex,  talks to the reader and awkwardly breaks up the flow of the story. Surprisingly filled with life lessons and not as shallow, or even as prime-time-drama-show-ish as the synopsis printed on the back will make it seem.

Level of Romance: It's about relationships, so...I'm gonna go with a lot.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Crackback by John Coy

Young Adult, 201 pages

Miles Manning isn't the best anything. He's got zits, his grades could use some help and girls rarely look his way. The one thing going for him is football. He's a starting player on the school team, but it's not enough. His father is still pushing him to do better and pretty much driving his life. His best friend is trying to shoot him up with steroids, saying it'll make him a better player. Is it worth it?Mile will have to decide what he's willing to do to be the best. 

Not as dull as I thought it would be. It puts football in layman's terms for those who aren't exactly fans of the sport. It's not just about football, either. It's about being yourself and taking control of your life; about defining yourself. Miles has a believable teen voice and he's a great character. At times the plot seems to be stuck in the early nineties because of the mannerisms of the characters but it doesn't hinder the story. 

Level of Romance: Miles does fraternize with a girl, but it's nothing overly romantic. 

Rating: 5 out of 5 

 Miles from Ordinary by Carol Lynch Williams

Young Adult, 208 pages

Lacey is all set to start her summer job at the public library, while her mother is about to start her own job at the local grocery store. The thirteen-year-old Lacey hopes that her mother's problems have settled because she seems so much better and without this job, they're flat broke. But as the day grows old, all the memories come back, telling the story of how this plan obviously couldn't work and how it quickly got out of hand.

With a slow start, I was almost going to give up on this. But about a third of the way in, a true conflict and some answers are presented to the reader and the plot takes off, gluing you to the pages. Mental illness and some other heavy subjects are featured in this book, so don't expect a frivolous tale of a girl. Definitely worth the read and the drudging through the first part.

Level of Romance: Lacey's got enough problems, she can't handle a guy too.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

I hope you enjoyed these short and simple reviews and expect a new full length one soon. Happy Reading!!!

Teaser Tuesday: Monster High

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.  

Here's what you do...

-Grab your current read

-Select 2 or more sentences from a random page (no spoilers)

-Do include the title and author so we can add it to our TBR pile.

   

  Monster High by Lisi Harrison

   

"Viveka and Viktor waved back, the worry behind their eyes undermining the smiles on their faces." (Page 81)

Teaser Tuesdays: Miles from Ordinary

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.  

Here's what you do...

-Grab your current read

-Select 2 or more sentences from a random page (no spoilers)

-Do include the title and author so we can add it to our TBR pile.

   

                                Miles from Ordinary

                 by Carol Lynch Williams

                                             

   

" I screamed till I saw light flash behind my eyelids. I screamed till I thought my voice might break." ( p.104)

Review: Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

                                                                                                                                              Lia and Cassie are best friends competing to be the thinnest. Then Cassie loses, not just the game, but her life and Lia is left with a haunting memory of her friend and a guilt that she can't get over. Lia struggles on a painful journey of recovery and the loss. Told in first person point of view, this sometimes graphic young adult novel has 278 pages. The main focus of the novel is Lia's eating disorder. Alright, it's basically the only conflict other than Cassie's death, but they're actually related so...no subplots, just all Lia's problems all the time. Which wasn't a bad thing...until her problems got boring. I liked her hallucinations though. her constant visions of Cassie were interesting and it'll leave you wondering if this is a ghost novel or is Lia just crazy. My favorite characters are Elijah, a strange hippie-esque guy Lia meets, and Cassie's ghost. They are both sarcastic and call for funny, sometimes lighter moments in such a dark and painful novel. I had to force myself to drudge through this when I reached the halfway mark and still nothing moving had actually occured. Not only that, but it took me a long time to get into the book because of the strange way Lia thinks and the lack of expostion until much farther in. Despite all that, the ending came through with a quick series of events that definitely put the novel back on track for me. The actual last chapter, which is something like an epilogue didn't jive with me, but I suppose it was necessary.  The language was lyrical and beautiful, something I enjoyed, although it did bring the reader out of the story and makes it a little hard to get back to focusing, but still, a plus point for the novel and the strike-out text helped to show the way Lia's brain works. For example there will be a sentence like this:

                       I am so hungry

followed by a sentence like this:

                   I don't need a muffin

     Wintergirls discusses the issue that is so common now; eating disorders. A scary problem, after reading this you'll want to eat and spill your feeling all over the floor. It's painful to read and the emotions are there, but a reader can be easily distracted or frustrated by the format and sometimes dull situation of it all. Worth the read if you dig on drowning in the problems of others.

Level of Romance: Lia doesn't have time for romance with the ghost of her best friend haunting her, too many family problems to count on her fingers and toes, and an eating disorder that's slowly killing her.  

Rating: 3 out of 5

Review: Exposed by Kimberly Marcus

   Liz is Photogirl; able to sum up everyone in a nickname and knows that what she sees through her camera lens is truth. She loses her best friend, Kate, after Kate accuses Liz's older brother, Mike, of a crime. Liz can't see the big picture anymore like the old Photogirl, the one who was "foreverbest" with the Mistress of Modern Dance(Kate) used to. Told in free verse, the hardcover edition of this 2011 young adult  debut has 288 pages.
    I went through stages in my liking of this book. I was excited to read it, went into reading it with a lot of hope. But when I, as an attentive reader, was able to figure out the secret some 50 pages before Liz, the narrator was able to, I began to grumble and the hope of a good verse novel died. As I drudged through, I grew to love it again. The characters and events felt so real; the emotions searing. Liz's journey from having a great life to having nothing and her reaction and coping with that was amazing, flawless even. There was family tension, character growth, and a great resolution. unlike some verse novels, the events are chronologically ordered and make sense, with a minimal of random side stories from the past and the such. Once you get over the whole secret thing, the novel actually becomes quite gripping.
   Level of Romance: None; it's mostly about the family tension and Liz's burdens of the situation as well as how she deals with it.
Rating: 4 out of 5