kimberly reviews: "maybe one day" by melissa kantor

Book: Maybe One Day
Author: Melissa Kantor
Series?: No
Rating: 5 Stars

Zoe and her best friend, Olivia, have always had big plans for the future, none of which included Olivia getting sick. Still, Zoe is determined to put on a brave face and be positive for her friend.

Even when she isn't sure what to say.

Even when Olivia misses months of school.

Even when Zoe starts falling for Calvin, Olivia's crush.

The one thing that keeps Zoe moving forward is knowing that Olivia will beat this, and everything will go back to the way it was before. It has to. Because the alternative is too terrifying for her to even imagine.

In this incandescent page-turner, which follows in the tradition of The Fault in Our Stars, Melissa Kantor artfully explores the idea that the worst thing to happen to you might not be something that is actually happening to you. Raw, irreverent, and honest, Zoe's unforgettable voice and story will stay with readers long after the last page is turned.

I decided to review this after yesterday's Top Ten Tuesday, it was one of the first books on my list . I'm not even sure why I decided to pick this one up. I think I read a friend's review of it and bought it on a whim. I did NOT expect how much this book would impact me. I connected to the characters immediately, their friendship is beautifully written, and shockingly realistic. I recognized elements of my own friendships in the friendship between Zoe and Olivia.

It's a bit difficult for me to really describe it... I think if I say too much, you'll just get bored reading about me babbling about this part I loved, and this part that made me cry...

Simply put, I could not put the book down. I was up WAY too late reading this, and I was actually crying as I read it. So much that after I finished the book I put a wet washcloth on my eyes for fear of having puffy eyes the next day! (Trying to explain that my swollen eyes were due to a book can be difficult...)

I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys Contemporary novels, friendship stories, fans of John Green, or someone who is looking for a story that shows friendship in a new, very honest light.

Have you read this? What did you think? Or have you read a book that hit you harder emotionally than you could have expected?

Tahleen reminisces and reviews: "Roomies" by Sara Zarr and Tara Altebrando

Title: Roomies
Authors: Sara Zarr and Tara Altebrando
Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks, 2013 (print available from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
Narrators: Becca Battoe, Emily Eiden

Rating: 3.5 stars

When Elizabeth (EB) gets the email with her roommate assignment for college in the fall, she immediately shoots off an email to introduce herself and ask about logistical things like microwaves and mini fridges. She is excited and very ready to leave her suburban New Jersey town for UC Berkeley in San Francisco, especially since her mother is driving her crazy. Plus, she might be able to finally see her gay father who moved to SF years ago. Lauren, on the other hand, is disappointed when she gets the email, since she had requested a single. She just wants to get some peace and be alone for once, as she is the oldest of six by at least 12 years. So their correspondence does not get off on the right foot, but eventually they start to open up to each other—perhaps too much.

When I started listening to this, I immediately was brought back to when I received my roommate assignment for college. It was a little different, as Facebook had just been released and you still needed a .edu email address to sign up for a page, and I didn't get an email address. I was just given a name and a phone number,  but I didn't have any qualms about calling Vanessa. As it turns out, I ended up talking to her mother for a while since she wasn't home when I first called, but eventually we caught up with each other and luckily we seemed perfect for each other. I still feel really lucky I got to have her as my roommate for two years! (Miss you, Vanessa!)

Anyway, back to the audiobook. Sara Zarr and Tara Altebrando do a great job of creating unique voices for their characters, though I'm not 100% sure of who wrote which. My guess is Zarr wrote Lauren's part, and Altebrando wrote EB's. Each girl had very different situations and drama she had to deal with at home, and they shared a lot of this with each other through email. As we all know, it can be MUCH easier to talk about something in writing with someone you don't necessarily know in real life, especially since they might not know the other people you're talking about. But because each girl actually has her own personality and set of morals, things get hairy.

Honestly I was super annoyed with EB for almost the whole second half of the book. She really seemed to be a brat for a lot of that to me, but then again I have never had to deal with the situations she does. Still, I was glad (relieved?) when she came around.

As for the narration, I thought it was good. Becca Battoe reads Lauren's part, and Emily Eiden reads EB's. Both voices were different enough that I had no trouble distinguishing whose part was whose, and for the most part they were easy to listen to. I especially liked Battoe's narration; her voice is pretty soothing.

All in all, I do recommend this book if you like realistic fiction, dual-voice narrations, and/or are feeling nostalgic about college or are excited for your upcoming college experience. It's a good, easy read with a bit of drama and some nice character development.

Disclaimer: I got this digital audiobook via OverDrive from the library.

Lori Reviews All the Summer Girls

Title: All the Summer Girls

Author:  Meg Donohue

Published:  William Morrow, 2013

Where I Got It:  I received this book from the publishers.

Summary from Goodreads: In Philadelphia, good girl Kate is dumped by her fiance the day she learns she is pregnant with his child. In New York City, beautiful stay-at-home mom Vanessa is obsessively searching the Internet for news of an old flame. And in San Francisco, Dani, the aspiring writer who can't seem to put down a book--or a cocktail--long enough to open her laptop, has just been fired...again.

In an effort to regroup, Kate, Vanessa, and Dani retreat to the New Jersey beach town where they once spent their summers. Emboldened by the seductive cadences of the shore, the women being to realize how much their lives, and friendships, have been shaped by the choices they made one fateful night on the beach eight years earlier--and the secrets that only now threaten to surface.

My thoughts:  I LOVED THIS!  A month or so ago, I signed up to receive this book thinking that it would be a nice, relaxing read.  I saw that it was coming out on the 21st, so I really wanted to read it before then.  And I waited and waited for the book to arrive.  I began to worry that it wouldn't get here in time for me to review before it came out.  It came a few days ago, just in time for me to make a lot of progress during Bout of Books.  But I still wasn't overly optimistic about finishing by the 21st.  As you can see, this review is coming out on the 19th.  Apparently, I didn't really need to worry because I couldn't put it down.

I found myself relating to something in each of the three friends' personalities and I think that most readers of this novel would do the same.  I couldn't help but sympathize with the characters and their struggles.  Despite being practically inseparable growing up, each of the characters carries a deep (usually dark) secret about their current lives and one about the fateful night alluded to in the summary.  Donohue does a great job of letting these secrets come out in the narrative.  Each chapter follows the interior thoughts of one of the main characters, giving the reader a variety of perspectives.

This book was definitely the ultimate beach read.  I really wish I had been sitting poolside--if not seaside--as I read this.  I felt myself completely relax and get caught up in the story, wondering what would happen next, how things would play out.  I came to really care about the characters and what happened to them.  Donohue leaves the rest of the story to the readers' imagination, but you get the sense that they will each turn out to be happy.

Bottom line--this was a really fun read that I think many of our readers would really enjoy.

Tahleen reviews: "Liar and Spy" by Rebecca Stead

Title: Liar and Spy
Author: Rebecca Stead
Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books, 2012

Rating: 4 stars

Georges, named after the painter Georges Seurat, just moved in to a new apartment building after his parents had to sell their house, due to his father losing his job. This makes life even more difficult for Georges, because a) he doesn't really have any friends, and in fact is bullied nearly every day, and b) he hardly ever sees his mother, who works at the hospital and has been there full days ever since the move.

On one of the first days in their new building, Georges and his dad find a sign for the Spy Club. On a whim, his dad writes the note, "What time?" and thus begins Georges's strange and unpredictable friendship with Safer, a boy his age who calls himself a spy. As Georges and Safer get deeper and deeper into investigating a neighbor whom Safer just calls "Mr. X," slowly we see that everything might not be as it seems.

I was really looking forward to reading Stead's newest novel, after her beautiful and captivating Newbery Award–winner When You Reach Me. I'm sorry to say I didn't love Liar and Spy as much as I was hoping to, but I am glad I read it and it is a lovely little story about friendship and confronting your fears.

Though I felt the story itself moved slowly, this is the type of book that you need to be patient with if you are going to get anything out of it. It is slim, so you're not necessarily slogging along waiting for the action to happen, but I personally did feel a bit antsy during the middle. However, in the end it was completely worth it and I felt full and happy after turning the final page.

Perhaps my favorite aspect of the book is standing up for yourself and facing your fears, be they worry for loved ones, bullies at school, or any number of smaller everyday fears. Georges handles being teased pretty well from what I gathered, though he is mostly passive and realizes he needs to do something if it's going to stop. Along the way, he forges new alliances that might just turn into friendships. Safer also has fears to conquer, though I'll let you discover those on your own.

All in all, I enjoyed Liar and Spy, especially toward the end, though it didn't live up to my expectations after having read When You Reach Me. But maybe that's unfair. It's still worth the read.

Disclosure: The publisher sent me an advanced reader's copy of this book.