Other Words for Love by Lorraine Zago Rosenthal

Title: Other Words for Love

Author: Lorraine Zago Rosenthal

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Release Date: January 11, 2011

Date Read: April 16 - 17, 2011

Rating: 5/5 stars

Goodreads

Summary

When an unexpected inheritance enables Ari to transfer to an elite Manhattan prep school, she makes a wealthy new friend, Leigh. Leigh introduces Ari to the glamorous side of New York--and to her gorgeous cousin, Blake. Ari doesn't think she stands a chance, but amazingly, Blake asks her out. As their romance heats up, they find themselves involved in an intense, consuming relationship. Ari's family worries that she is losing touch with the important things in life, like family, hard work, and planning for the future.

When misfortune befalls Blake's family, he pulls away, and Ari's world drains of color. As she struggles to get over the breakup, Ari must finally ask herself: were their feelings true love . . . or something else?

Review

Wow. My first 5-star novel of 2011! My review originally was just a list of all my favourite things. It's been so hard to condense it into a few paragraphs.

First off, I don't think I've read a novel in a while that authentically covers so many different topics: postpartum depression, relationships with older men, Native people, teen sexuality, and visual arts. Phew! I particularly enjoyed Rosenthal's portrayal of New York in the 1980s when HIV/AIDS was first diagnosed.

I also praise Rosenthal for her originality. Few YA authors choose to write teenage girl romances with older men and those who do usually write the man as a manipulative jerk. I've never read a novel where the man, Blake, was actually an awesome boyfriend. Ari's relationship with Blake was completely realistic for how they dated and their sexual life. I appreciated how Ari didn't regret her relationship and acknowledged that she still thought about it from time to time, rather than "growing up" and carrying on as if nothing happened. Rosenthal's insistence to have Ari learn from her mistakes but still yearn to make them again was heartbreaking. I also loved her accurate account of teen sexuality, how there's more than "just sex" to experience both emotionally and physically, and that there can be serious repercussions. 

I loved the financial and social comparison between the five family dynamics featured in the novel: Ari and her parents, Evelyn and her parents/children/husband, Leigh and her mother, Summer and her mother, and Blake and his Dad/brother. The three girls each started with similar backgrounds and interests but by the end had each become people the other girls wouldn't recognize. The importance placed on ensuring each of the adult characters had their own subplot and weren't just written as "Dad-because-someone-needs-to-say-'curfew'" made each family dynamic more realistic and heartbreaking, especially in scenes between Ari and her mother. 

The only thing I didn't like about Other Words for Love was the title and it's lack of significance to the plot. While I love the phrase I wish it had been incorporated in some way into dialogue or something. 

Favourite Quote: "I thought about when colors had been outrageously bright and the air had smelled incredibly good and when I had forgotten how it felt to be sad. Now I remembered, and I thought Blake was no better than some street-thug heroin dealer. He had gotten me hooked on him and then he'd cut off my supply. I'd heard that addicts would do anything, would degrade themselves in every way to get another fix, and now I understood how that could happen, because it was happening to me."

Recommended: Crash Test Love (Ted Michael), Leftovers (Laura Weiss), I Know It's Over (C.K. Kelly Martin), After the Moment (Garret Freymann-Weyr)

The Other Half of Me by Emily Franklin

Title: The Other Half of Me

Author: Emily Franklin

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Release Date: September 11, 2007

Date Read: April 13 - 15, 2011

Rating: 3/5 stars

Goodreads

Summary

Jenny Fitzgerald has been outside the huddle, trying to fit in to her sports-obsessed family. The only time she knows the score is when she's holding an egg-carton palette and painting on a canvas, but even then she feels as though something is missing.

Unlike her three younger siblings, Jenny knows her biological father only as Donor #142.

As Jenny's 16th summer draws to a close, she feels more alienated than ever. But then a chance meeting with gorgeous über-jock Tate leads Jenny to reach out to someone else who might know exactly how she feels. With Tate by her side, Jenny searches for a genetic relative in the Donor Sibling Registry and discovers that she has a half sister, Alexa. Jenny hopes their budding relationship will fill the gaps in her life, but when Alexa shows up on her doorstep for a surprise visit, the changes in Jenny's world are much bigger than she could ever have imagined.

Review

I found an old ARC of this on my bookshelf a couple weeks ago and decided to finally read it. I was pleasantly surprised! I've been yearning for realism in my novels lately and this one of one The Other Half of Me's strongest points.

Jenny and Alexa were wonderful characters to play opposite each other. Jenny, the self-concious forgotten sister vs Alexa, the outgoing loved only child. I appreciated how Alexa filled a void and was able to see missed moments in Jenny's family life that Jenny had neglected to see. If Jenny had visited Alexa instead I'm sure the same would've happened.

Jenny and Tate's romance was particuarily realistic. Since the novel was told on a day-by-day basis with no missed time we were able to see their relationship play out over the first few days, a plot point many authors choose to skip over. I also liked how their romance wasn't full of declarations or angst, just simply two people who liked each other over summer holidays.

A few years ago I read a novel about donor siblings but I forget most of the details, so I'll consider this my first plunge into the topic. What an awesome story idea! Identity crisis is a common theme in YA literature but pairing it with sperm donation and the "unknown other family" takes it to a whole new level. It seemed so appropriate for Jenny to not really acknowledge it publically that much until Tate coaxes it out of her. The family reactions to Alexa were especially heart wrenching as I totally sympathized with Jenny's father when he felt out of place and "not enough" for his daughter. 

There were a few things I didn't like though. The ending seemed to come together too perfectly and sentimentally for my taste. I would've liked a bit more angst or sadness, something to counter all the happiness throughout the novel. I also would've liked a stronger comparison between athleticism and arts, not only during Jenny's identity crisis and Jenny v.s. Alexa, but as a social commentary for how teens today are judged depending on which they choose to pursue. 

Favourite Quote: "That's what the best part of life is, those days or minutes you can't ever frame or paint beforehand." 

Recommended: Finding Cassidy (Laura Langston), Donorboy (Brendan Halpin), Speak (Laurie Halse Anderson)

Breathing by Cheryl Renee Herbsman

Title: Breathing
Author: Cheryl Renee Herbsman

Publisher: Speak

Release Date: April 16, 2009

Date Read: April 11 - 13, 2011

Rating: 4/5 stars

Goodreads

Summary

Savannah would be happy to spend the summer in her coastal Carolina town working at the library and lying in a hammock reading her beloved romance novels. But then she meets Jackson. Once they lock eyes, she’s convinced he’s the one—her true love, her soul mate, a boy different from all the rest. And at first it looks like Savannah is right. Jackson abides by her mama’s strict rules, and stays by her side during a hospitalization for severe asthma, which Savannah becomes convinced is only improving because Jackson is there. But when he’s called away to help his family—and seems uncertain about returning—Savannah has to learn to breathe on her own, both literally and figuratively

Review

A perfect summer beach read! I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this book. I've missed reading a plain ol' romance and this was just what I needed. Breathing is one of the most realistic teen romance stories I've read in a long time. 


What made me love Breathing the most was how simple the story was. Of course there was angst, but it was so appropriate and realistic, not only for the characters but for teenagers in general. There wasn't even really an antagonist, just the circumstances of their lives tearing them apart. 


I loved Savannah from the start. A hard-working loving Southern teen who loves to read and can't wait to get out of her small town. Heard it all before, right? Wrong. She didn't adore her friends, she just enjoyed their company. She wasn't a perfect daughter, she often judged and argued with her mother. A lot of teen readers will empathize with Savannah and be rooting for her to achieve her goals. 


But most importantly she suffered from asthma. I've never read a story about asthma before and this definitely made my heart go out to all those who suffer from it. At times I found her attacks very melodramatic and angsty until I realized how realistic and terrifying they would be to experience. I also thought that it would be quite juvenile for Savannah to think she couldn't "breathe" without Jackson and when she had an attack shortly after he left I was fully prepared to give up on reading it. Cheryl totally turned it around though, showing how Savannah learning to "breathe" on her own was more of a metaphor for her independence and growth. Very well done!


I have also never read a novel with such an interesting twist on Southern culture. Rather than just having the characters speak with an accent, Cheryl wrote it into the narration. It worked perfectly!  I often found myself thinking in an accent when writing this review even. 


Favourite Quote: "I ain't never been a big churchgoer. And I don't mean  to be blasphemous or nothing, but right now in this moment, I find myself feeling like a devout member of the church of Love. I reckon Mama would say I'm just a hopeless romantic. Maybe them folks from Jane Eyre's Victorian era would think I'm immoral. But I swear, there ain't nothing else in the world this pure."

Recommended: Sing Me to Sleep (Angela Morrison), Till Death Do Us Part (Lurlene McDaniel), The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)

A Time of Miracles by Anne-Laure Bondoux

Title: A Time of Miracles
Author: Anne-Laure Bondoux

Publisher: Delacourte Books for Young Readers

Release Date: November 9, 2010

Date Read: April 7 - 11, 2011

Rating: 3/5 stars

Goodreads

Summary

Blaise Fortune, also known as Koumaïl, loves hearing the story of how he came to live with Gloria in the Republic of Georgia: Gloria was picking peaches in her father’s orchard when she heard a train derail. After running to the site of the accident, she found an injured woman who asked Gloria to take her baby. The woman, Gloria claims, was French, and the baby was Blaise.

When Blaise turns seven years old, the Soviet Union collapses and Gloria decides that she and Blaise must flee the political troubles and civil unrest in Georgia. The two make their way westward on foot, heading toward France, where Gloria says they will find safe haven. But what exactly is the truth about Blaise’s past?

Bits and pieces are revealed as he and Gloria endure a five-year journey across the Caucasus and Europe, weathering hardships and welcoming unforgettable encounters with other refugees searching for a better life. During this time Blaise grows from a boy into an adolescent; but only later, as a young man, can he finally attempt to untangle his identity.

Bondoux’s heartbreaking tale of exile, sacrifice, hope, and survival is a story of ultimate love

Review

I'm struggling with how to review and rate this novel for several reasons, mainly because I feel that I should never have read it. Don't get me wrong, it was a good read, it was just very hard to get through. I'm going to give it 3 stars as a middle-grade read for it's simplicity, age-appropriate language, and good plot description/execution, but as a young adult read it wouldn't have passed at all.

First off, this is definitely a middle-grade/young-YA novel which is a genre I don't particularily enjoy reading. If I had known this in the first place I probably wouldn't have read it. I found it to be very childish and juvenile at first, though in the end it made a lot of sense for Blaise to be so young a narrator in such terrifying conditions.I also felt unequipped to read this because I struggled with the history and non-fiction aspects of the novel. I know absolutely nothing about Georgia or the collapse of the Soviet Union. A lot of the politics and cultural norms were lost on me (and probably many other YA readers). I wish Anne-Laure Bondoux had given a brief history at the start, though the maps definitely helped me keep track of where they were going.

As a novel, A Time of Miracles was structured well. Very few details were given at the start when Blaise's memories would have been blurry and grew into larger chapters as he aged. I liked how realistic his recollections were: some chapters were just for one day, while others covered several years as time slipped by. Since I had no idea that this was supposed to be about Blaise's childhood rather than adolescence I spent the first half of the story frustrated with the pace, wishing it would speed up to present. In the end everything made sense and I was appreciative of how many details were given about each stage in Blaise's life.

Favourite Quote: "In life nothing goes the way you want. That's the pure and simple truth. You're separated from the ones you want to love forever. You want peace, but there are only rebellions."

Recommended: The Breadwinner (Deborah Ellis), Girl of Kosovo (Alice Mead), The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (John Boyne)

Violet Eyes by Debbie Viguie

Title: Violet Eyes

Author: Debbie Viguie

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Release Date: February 23, 2010

Date Read: April 5 - 6, 2011

Rating: 3/5 stars

Goodreads

Summary

When a storm brings the dashing Prince Richard to her family's farm, Violet falls in love at first sight. Richard also gives Violet his heart, but he knows his marriage is destined to be an affair of state, not of passion. For the king and queen have devised a contest to determine who will win their son's hand in marriage.

To be reunited with her prince, Violet must compete against princesses from across the land. It will take all of her wits - and a little help from an unexpected source - if Violet is to demonstrate the depth of her character and become Richard's bride.

Review

Meh. I was conflicted about how many stars to rate this book so I just went with 3. When I was a younger teen I loved the Once Upon a Time series of fairy-tale retellings but now they just seem juvenile. After reading Beauty (Robin McKinley) I sort of expect more character development and subplots in my retellings. 

One thing I did love about Violet Eyes was that if you didn't know that it was a retelling of the Princess and the Pea from the start, you wouldn't necessarily have found out until part way through. The elements of the original plot: princess competition, sleeping on a pea, etc. weren't introduced until later on in the story. Many of Debbie Viguie's changes reminded me of Once Upon a Mattress, a Broadway musical about the tale. 

Once again I found the characters to be two-dimensional without much development. While I did appreciate Violet's independence and feminism I found it quite juxtaposition with her head-over-heels romance with Richard. I didn't really understand the attraction and wished that Debbie had included more conversations between the two. Violet's friends at the castle seemed to be the stereotypical "best friends" with no real purpose other than to encourage Violet and give her someone to talk to. However I loved Goldie, how she deserved the crown, her family issues. I almost wish the novel was about her rather than Violet. 


As a plot I thought the contests at the castle were brilliant and very well laid out, especially the "sleep-on-a-pea" at the end. Plot twist! So ingenious to write it that Violet was never supposed to feel the pea. I didn't really understand the subplot of Violet's mother's illness and wish it had been expanded on or more pertinent to the plot rather than just something Violet worried about all the time. I also found the revelation that Violet was a princess to be completely unrealistic and very "soap-opera"-ish for her mother to reveal it on her deathbed. I almost wish it had been reveled at the end rather than the beginning or maybe if Richard had decided he didn't need to marry a princess? I realize now I spent most of the novel rewriting it in my head to make it better. Oops!


I just wanted to mention my reasoning for my favourite quote. I loved how completely random this plot point was, but also how nonchalantly it was expressed. So hilarious and refreshing compared to Twilight and all the other werewolf novels. 

Favourite Quote: "You really are in love with a werewolf, aren't you?" "Descendant. It's complicated," Arianna said. She smiled. "But that's love!"

Recommended: Snow (Tracy Lynn), Beauty (Robin McKinley), An Earthly Knight (Janet McNaughton)

Drought by Pam Bachorz

Title: Drought
Author: Pam Bachorz

Publisher: Egmont USA

Release Date: January 25, 2011

Date Read: April 2 - 4, 2011

Rating: 4/5 stars

Goodreads

Summary

Ruby Prosser dreams of escaping the Congregation and the early-nineteenth century lifestyle that’s been practiced since the community was first enslaved.

She plots to escape the vicious Darwin West, his cruel Overseers, and the daily struggle to gather the life-prolonging Water that keeps the Congregants alive and gives Darwin his wealth and power. But if Ruby leaves, the Congregation will die without the secret ingredient that makes the Water special: her blood.

So she stays.

But when Ruby meets Ford, the new Overseer who seems barely older than herself, her desire for freedom is too strong. He’s sympathetic, irresistible, forbidden—and her only access to the modern world. Escape with Ford would be so simple, but can Ruby risk the terrible price, dooming the only world she’s ever known?

Review

Loved it! I was a little hesitant to read Drought, thinking my opinion of it would be swayed after reading Candor so recently. I try to space out my authors but Pam Bachorz just kept calling to me from my TBR pile. So glad I picked it up!

The highlight of the novel, something lacking in some of the books I've recently read, was character development. Ruby's growth from a naive inexperienced child to an independent responsible young adult was beautifully written. I appreciated how Pam ensured that Ruby made many mistakes rather than magically maturing into the perfect protagonist. I loved her internal struggle of how to behave and make decisions as a daughter, friend, girlfriend, and leader in her community. I sometimes found her thoughts and feelings a bit repetitive and overdone but in the end it seemed realistic for what she'd be going through emotionally after so many years in captivity.

I also enjoyed how romance played a vital yet not overpowering component in the story. Conflicted by her feelings for Ford she chooses to use him for information rather than running away with him, an option rarely explored in love stories. To find a protagonist unwilling to throw her life away for a man, regardless of how she was raised or what opportunities he could provide for her, was refreshing to say the least. Ford's flawed character was an excellent juxtaposition to Ruby's "keep-sweet" lifestyle. It was really interesting to note through the novel how Ford would definitely not be the main love interest if he had met a normal girl in New York: tattood, financial issues, problems at home, conflicted about his role in life, etc. While it might have made their romance even more unlikely, it made it realistic that each of them would find company in one another, each lacking the qualities of gentleness and indepence (respectively) that the other possesses.

However, there were a few things I disliked. Darwin was the "cookie-cutter" antagonist with an alterior motive and his own dilemmas to work through. I found it really unrealistic that he'd only ask Sula for her love once a year. After 200 years, wouldn't you get a little anxious and demand more? I found the whole "200-years" point to be the weakest part of the plot: Why had nothing changed? Was Darwin also drinking the Water to not age? There were many unanswered questions throughout the novel like how Darwin recruited employees and what The Visitor used the Water for? I hope these will be answered in a sequel, otherwise the reader is definitely left wanting more information.

Favourite Quote: Didn't have one actually. Sorry!

Recommended: Candor (Pam Bachorz), The Giver (Lois Lowry), Tuck Everlasting (Natalie Babbitt), 

Choker by Elizabeth Woods

Title: Choker

Author: Elizabeth Woods

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing 

Release Date: January 4, 2011

Date Read: March 31 - April 2, 2011

Rating: 4/5 stars

Goodreads

Summarys

Sixteen-year-old Cara Lange has been a loner ever since she moved away from her best and only friend, Zoe, years ago. She eats lunch with the other girls from the track team, but they're not really her friends. Mostly she spends her time watching Ethan Gray from a distance, wishing he would finally notice her, and avoiding the popular girls who call her "Choker" after a humiliating incident in the cafeteria.

Then one day Cara comes home to find Zoe waiting for her. Zoe's on the run from problems at home, and Cara agrees to help her hide. With her best friend back, Cara's life changes overnight. Zoe gives her a new look and new confidence, and next thing she knows, she's getting invited to parties and flirting with Ethan. Best of all, she has her BFF there to confide in.

But just as quickly as Cara's life came together, it starts to unravel. A girl goes missing in her town, and everyone is a suspect—including Ethan. Worse still, Zoe starts behaving strangely, and Cara begins to wonder what exactly her friend does all day when she's at school. You're supposed to trust your best friend no matter what, but what if she turns into a total stranger?

Review

I knew it! Right from the start. The entire book had a Black Swan feel to it, so it just became a matter of seeing how things would unravel. I was disappointed at the beginning, going "Great, I have to read 150 more pages about how she killed Sydney." But it got so much better! The twist of killing Alexis too? Never saw that coming. I thought she'd kidnap her or something, but stuffing her in the barn roof was so much more intense. 

Like many other reviewers, I didn't really like Cara as a protagonist. As you might have noticed from previous reviews, I dislike clingy, shallow girls looking for dates. Her pining after Ethan was embarrassing to read and I kept wanting to just yell at her "Grow up!" I also thought she was terribly naive to think that her parents would never find Zoe, like seriously, who thinks they can hide someone in their bedroom for weeks without someone noticing? However, considering how the novel turned out, Cara was perfect. Everything made sense in the end. In that case I found it really logical as a writer for Elizabeth to make Cara so helpless and juvenile, isolated by both her family and peers. 

I loved how this novel wasn't really about bullying, though that ended up being the driving force behind Cara's actions. It was really an identity story as Cara attempted to separate her nickname and persona at school from the idealistic confident girl she dreams of being. Her struggle between independence and dependence/friendship with Zoe was so realistically written that many readers probably never suspected that it was an internal struggle within Cara rather than a fight between friends. 

I loved the "trifecta" of the Choker symbolism: Cara's nickname, how Cara always "chokes" when an opportunity arises, and choking Alexis and Sydney. I absolutely loved how this theme was incorporated in so many different contexts, each without being too obvious and "notice me putting the title in the story"-ish.

Favourite Quote: "Over and over, they said the sentence together, gazing into the mirror. Cara's voice blended with Zoe's until she couldn't tell whether she was speaking or Zoe was."

Recommended: Breathe My Name (R.A. Nelson), Bliss (Lauren Myracle), All Unquiet Things (Anna Jarzab)