Showing posts with label high school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label high school. Show all posts

Monday, March 20, 2023

Book Review - The Wrong Kind of Weird by James Ramos

 

 

 


The Wrong Kind of Weird by James Ramos is about a high school “nerd” who falls for the popular girl at his school. Cameron Carson is a proud member of the Geeks and Nerds United (GANU) club. He proudly lets his geek flag fly until he catches the attention of Karla Ortega. Karla is the revered student council president, cheerleader, theater kid, and the most popular girl at their school.

The unlikely duo meet one summer while working together at a local coffee shop. They kept a respectable distance from each other at first, until they realized that they had a lot more in common with each other than they initially thought. Cameron finds himself falling head over heels for Karla.  Their summer romance starts to bloom and grow. However, Karla isn’t interested in taking their relationship public and acknowledging his presence at school.

The reader is then introduced to Mackenzie Briggs, the fourth and newest member of the GANU club. She wears her heart on her sleeve. She doesn’t care what other people say about her, nor is she afraid to express herself.  When Mackenzie first joined the club, she and Cameron had always bickered back and forth. Cameron realizes that Mackenzie has a lot in common with him and he feels that he is able to be his true self when he is around her. After Cameron repeatedly gets ignored at school by Karla, he finds himself drawn to Mackenzie. How will this love triangle end?

The book is an easy and quick read. The novel is littered with Japanese anime and manga along with other pop culture references. I was familiar with the majority of the references but they could be overwhelming at times and hard to follow especially if you are not familiar with them. I felt that at times the dialogue and writing didn’t flow as smoothly. At times, the dialogue felt forced.  Then at times the book included a lot of unnecessary details and it felt choppy.  

The story was predictable and had no unexpected twists. I felt that there weren't any antagonists nor any protagonist I was rooting for.  Instead the story just seemed to be about young adults who are trying to find their place in the world while exploring intimate and romantic relationships with other people. The only unique aspect of this novel was perhaps the anime and manga references.While I thought the book was an okay read, I felt like it had already been done before, and there was nothing in this book that hasn’t already been explored in other teenage love triangle novels.  I felt that the book was missing something to make it memorable.

 

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Book Review - Scars Like Wings by Erin Stewart + Giveaway



Ava Lee has lost her parents, her home, her best friend, and even her face in a moment's notice. She doesn't need to look in a mirror to know how she looks like because she sees it in the eyes of everyone around her. After nearly a year after the fire,  her aunt and uncle decide that she should go back to high school. They want her to have a "normal" life being surrounded by other people instead of feeling isolated. 

However, Ava feels that life will never feel normal for her again. And she could forget about making friends because no one wants to be seen with the Burned Girl. Things change when Ava meets another survivor named Piper. She begins to feel that she doesn't have to face the nightmare alone anymore. Piper likes to push Ava outside of her comfort zone and even introduces her to Asad, a boy who loves the theater just as much as she does. Slowly, Ava starts to feel connected to life again but, when Piper starts to struggle, will Ava be able to step up to the challenge?

 I thought this novel was a great and a emotional read. The characters were all well developed and likable. I love how each of the characters helped each other grow and become better versions of themselves.  The novel is an endearing read of someone facing psychological issues after a traumatizing event while finding herself again.

**Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion. **

 
About the Book

Title: SCARS LIKE WINGS
Author: Erin Stewart
Pub. Date: October 1, 2019
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook
Pages: 352

Relatable, heartbreaking, and real, this is a story of resilience--the perfect novel for readers of powerful contemporary fiction like Girl in Pieces and Every Last Word.

Before, I was a million things. Now I'm only one. The Burned Girl.

Ava Lee has lost everything there is to lose: Her parents. Her best friend. Her home. Even her face. She doesn't need a mirror to know what she looks like--she can see her reflection in the eyes of everyone around her.

A year after the fire that destroyed her world, her aunt and uncle have decided she should go back to high school. Be "normal" again. Whatever that is. Ava knows better. There is no normal for someone like her. And forget making friends--no one wants to be seen with the Burned Girl, now or ever.

But when Ava meets a fellow survivor named Piper, she begins to feel like maybe she doesn't have to face the nightmare alone. Sarcastic and blunt, Piper isn't afraid to push Ava out of her comfort zone. Piper introduces Ava to Asad, a boy who loves theater just as much as she does, and slowly, Ava tries to create a life again. Yet Piper is fighting her own battle, and soon Ava must decide if she's going to fade back into her scars . . . or let the people by her side help her fly.

"A heartfelt and unflinching look at the reality of being a burn survivor and at the scars we all carry. This book is for everyone, burned or not, who has ever searched for a light in the darkness." --Stephanie Nielson, New York Times bestselling author of Heaven Is Here and a burn survivor

About Erin:
Erin Stewart is the author of SCARS LIKE WINGS, her debut novel. Erin is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern and a BYU undergraduate who works as a freelance writer and editor, as well as a weekly columnist in Salt Lake City.
Erin lives in Utah with her husband and three children. She is represented by the amazing Brianne Johnson of Writers House.


Giveaway Details:
3 winners will receive a finished copy of SCARS LIKE WINGS, US Only.


Rafflecopter link:


Tour Schedule:
Week One:
10/1/2019- Feed Your Fiction Addiction- Review
10/2/2019- BookHounds YA- Review
10/3/2019- Lifestyle of Me- Review
10/4/2019- Fictitious Fox- Review

Week Two:
10/7/2019-  Fire and Ice - Review
10/8/2019- Moonlight Rendezvous- Review
10/9/2019- Fictitiouswonderland- Review
10/11/2019- Here's to Happy Endings- Review

Week Three:
10/14/2019- Treestand Book Reviews- Review
10/15/2019- Smada's Book Smack- Review
10/16/2019- Riddle’s Reviews- Review
10/17/2019- Jena Brown Writes- Review
10/18/2019- Book-Keeping- Review

Week Four:
10/21/2019- A Bookish Dream- Review
10/22/2019- Life Within The Pages- Review
10/23/2019- Portrait of a Book- Review
10/24/2019- The Pages In-Between- Review
10/25/2019- Paper Reader- Review

Week Five:
10/28/2019- Southern Girl Bookaholic- Review
10/29/2019- Do You Dog-ear?- Review
10/30/2019- Novel Novice- Excerpt
10/31/2019- Two points of interest- Review
 

Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Book Review - The Seven Torments of Amy and Craig by Don Zolidis + Giveaway

Photo Source - Amazon

Dating Amy is the best thing that has ever happened to Craig. However, it is also the worst thing that ever happened. Craig and Amy are complete opposites and should have never gotten together in the first place. Amy is beautiful and the intelligent student body president. While Craig is a Dungeons & Dragons geek who is a bit awkward. During their senior year, Craig and Amy go through a vicious cycle of breaking up and getting back together. Will Craig and Amy be able to work through their differences?

The novel is a heartwarming read about high school romance. The characters were relatable and realistic. It was interesting to watch the characters grow and experience life. While I found the book to be realistic, I had a hard time liking the main characters. I found Craig to be a bit self-centered and I was a bit confused with Amy's motives. Overall, an enjoyable read but, not something I would reread again.

**Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion. This post may contain affiliate links which means I earn advertising and/or referral fees if you purchase an item through my link. Please note, there will be no any extra charges to you. Thank you for your support.**


About the Book:
Title: THE SEVEN TORMENTS OF AMY & CRAIG
Author: Don Zolidis
Pub. Date: October 2, 2018
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook
Pages: 352
Find it: GoodreadsAmazonAudibleB&NiBooksTBD

Janesville, Wisconsin (cold in the sense that there is no God)
1994

The worst thing that's ever happened to Craig is also the best: Amy. Amy and Craig never should've gotten together. Craig is an awkward, Dungeons & Dragons-playing geek, and Amy is the beautiful, fiercely intelligent student-body president of their high school.

Yet somehow they did. Until Amy dumped him. Then got back together with him. Then dumped him again. Then got back together with him again. Over and over and over.

Unfolding during their senior year, Amy and Craig's exhilarating, tumultuous relationship is a kaleidoscope of joy, pain, and laughter as an uncertain future-and adult responsibility-loom on the horizon.

Craig fights for his dream of escaping Janesville and finding his place at a quirky college, while Amy's quest to uncover her true self sometimes involves being Craig's girlfriend?and sometimes doesn't.

Seven heartbreaks. Seven joys. Told nonsequentially, acclaimed playwright Don Zolidis's debut novel is a brutally funny, bittersweet taste of the utterly unique and utterly universal experience of first love.



About Don:
Originally from Wisconsin, Don Zolidis is a novelist and one of the most-produced playwrights in America.

His 102 published plays have received more than 12,000 productions and have appeared in every state and 64 countries.

His first novel, The Seven Torments of Amy and Craig, will be published by Disney-Hyperion in October 2018.

He currently splits time between Texas and New York and aspires to owning a dog.



Giveaway Details:

3 winners will win a finished copy of THE SEVEN TORMENTS OF AMY & CRAIG, US Only.


Rafflecopter link:


Tour Schedule:
Week Five:
11/5/2018- Novel NoviceReview
11/6/2018- BookHounds YAReview
11/7/2018- Owl Always Be ReadingReview
11/8/2018- Two points of interestReview
11/9/2018- Book-KeepingReview

Monday, May 28, 2018

Book Review - Bite Me by Louise Cypress + Giveaway

Photo Credit - Amazon

High School senior, Morgan Taylor-Jackson, can't wait to attend UCLA and leave her old life behind.  Her parents constantly bicker over their divorce. Morgan is known as the nerdy girl who hasn't been kissed yet. Her life turns upside down when she gets bitten by a small child and she is taken to the hospital. Upon returning home, she realizes that her body is going through a transformation but she isn't sure what to do.

Van Xander is descendant of Van Helsing. He believes all vampires should be destroyed even ones who abstain from human blood, who call themselves, Puritans. When Van is sent to investigate a local coven, Morgan becomes his prime target after a string of murders occur. While Van pretends to be interested in her, he notices that she isn't like the other vampires. Will Morgan become a full-fledged bloodthirsty vampire? Will Van be able to put aside his distaste for vampires and help Morgan?

The novel read like your average teenage vampire romance novel. It was packed with the basic predictable teenage drama along with a few twists. I found the book to be a fun and enjoyable read.  Even though, some parts were a bit over the top. For example, the dynamics between Van and his sister, Cassandra didn't feel like "normal" brother and sister interaction, at times.  I enjoyed the fact that the author incorporates popular vampire ideas, such as their weakness to silver. I like that she also included aspects, such as Puritans and groups of people who both wanted to kill and "help" the vampire race. I look forward to reading the book in the series.

**Disclosure -  I received a free unedited copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion**



Title: BITE ME
Author: Louise Cypress
Pub. Date: May 14, 2018
Publisher: Louise Cypress
Formats: Paperback, eBook
Pages: 303
Find it: GoodreadsAmazon

I fell in love with the slayer sent to destroy me. 

Morgan Taylor-Jackson can't wait for high school to end. In six months she leaves for UCLA and says goodbye to La Jolla, California and her parents' messy divorce. But when Morgan is bitten by a four-year-old boy, she becomes infected with a mysterious condition. Fever, insomnia, and a new bustline are only the beginning; Morgan morphs from nerd to bombshell.

As far as Van Xander is concerned, all vampires are evil, even the ones who reject human sacrifice and call themselves Puritans. When Helsing Incorporated sends Van to La Jolla to investigate the local coven, Morgan is his prime target. Pretending to be interested in her, Van asks Morgan out and puts her through a series of tests to determine her killer nature.

Morgan is thrilled to be dating a hot guy like Van and falls for him hard. As Van strings Morgan along, he grows increasingly guilty. Morgan is kind, compassionate, and a gooey romantic. Just as Van's mind begins to change, evil forces threaten everything. When prom night arrives, there are only two ways out of the ballroom: death or immortality. 




About Louise:
Louise Cypress believes in friendship, true love, and the everlasting power of books. She has never met a vampire, but she has been to a Love Sucks concert on Valentine’s Day. Louise can often be found curled up with a romance novel on Saturday night, diet soda in hand, secretly wishing bustles were back in fashion. Louise lives in San Diego, California, where the beach is crowded and summer is immortal.

BookBub | Amazon Link | Instagram | Goodreads


Giveaway Details:
1 winner will receive a $25 Amazon Gift Card, International.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rafflecopter Link:

Tour Schedule:
Week Two:
5/28/2018- To Be ReadReview
5/28/2018- BookHounds YAInterview

5/29/2018- Two Points of InterestReview
5/29/2018- The Howling TurtleGuest Post

5/30/2018- Smada's Book SmackSpotlight
5/30/2018- Two Chicks on BooksGuest Post

5/31/2018- Wonder StruckExcerpt
5/31/2018- Jaime's WorldSpotlight

6/1/2018- The Book GirlInterview