Slammed

Slammed
By Colleen Hoover
Genre: Romance, Death
Pages: 352
Publisher: Atria Books

So I've bashed several books here, and I was starting to lose faith the the YA genre. But then I read Slammed. Wow.

Slammed is the story of Layken, an 18 yr old high school senior with a mom and a brother. After her father dies, the family moves from Texas to Michigan. There she meets Will Cooper, and her world gets slammed.

I honestly haven't stopped thinking about this book since I finished it a week ago. Colleen Hoover does a wonderful job of showing the process of grief and the ability we have to feel joy even in the midst of pain. Layken is delightfully authentic; she displays the capacity for great maturity and great immaturity typical of 18 yr olds.

Hoover allows the reader to cry and laugh along with Layken, showing her in vulnerable, relatable situations.

"When I wake up it's midnight. I lie there a moment, hoping I'll come to the conclusion that this was all a bad dream, but the clarity never comes. When I pull back the covers, my hair clip falls from my hands and lands on the floor. this small piece of plastic, so old it's probably covered in lead-ridden paint. I think about how I felt the day my father gave it to me, and how all the sadness and fears were eliminated as soon as he put it in my hair. I lean forward and retrieve it from the floor, pressing down in the center so that it snaps open. I move a section of my bangs to the opposite side and secure it in place. I wait for the magic to take effect, but sure enough, everything still hurts. I pull the clip from my hair and throw it across the room and climb back into bed."

Besides the beautiful story of a family coping with grief, I loved Layken's relationship with Will. They have struggles and challenges because they're both flawed characters. Their relationship shows the fluidity between love and friendship, the conflict between loving two things at once, and hope for a brighter future.

It's just a beautifully written, thought-provoking book. The plot moves quickly with some unexpected turns but still allows some resting places to stop and absorb the emotion-laden characters.

A few bonuses I enjoyed were the slam poetry sprinkled throughout and the Avett Brothers quotes at the beginning of every chapter. I've included a video of each if you're unfamiliar.

Before I Fall

Before I Fall
Author: Lauren Oliver
Genre: Romance, Death, Time-Travel
Pages: 470
Publisher: HarperCollins

 Before I Fall follows Samantha Kingston's last day -- Well, her last day seven different ways. I've never been a huge fan of dying books, but this one painted it a little differently.

Samantha Kingston is killed in a car accident after a party. Before she completely leaves this world, she relives her last day seven times. Each time she makes different choices and learns a little more about the people she's leaving behind.

I enjoyed Oliver's ability to show people as the complex beings they are. Initially, the book starts with a very typical day of a popular high school girl. I was honestly really annoyed and didn't enjoy reliving the stereotypes of high school. But as the book progresses, it shows each character a little more complexly. Because the focus was on imagining people complexly, the book avoided becoming too didactic. Even though it does carry some heavy morals (Like, I don't know, don't drink and drive, don't have sex, don't put up with a crappy boyfriend, spend time with your family, be nice to people, to name just a few) it's not weighed down by them. The morals happen as a result of the storytelling, not the other way round.

Good read. Thought-provoking. Good characters.

Follow Lauren Oliver on Twitter @OliverBooks.

Divergent

Divergent
Author: Veronica Roth
Genre: Dystopia, Action, Romance
Pages: 576
Publisher: Katherine Tegan Books

I'll be honest, I was a little excited to read Divergent. I saw it on the Top Ten List on Goodreads, and a friend liked it, so I figured it had to be good.

And it was. But about 10 minutes into reading, about chapter 5, I found myself on a roller coaster. The old, white roller coaster at Lagoon, to be exact.

Just like that old ride, this book took too long to pick up speed, was a replica of everything remotely similar, and ridiculously predictable.

The book is set in a Futuristic-Dystopian Chicago and is told by a 16 year old named Beatrice. She must choose to spend the rest of her life in one of five "factions," tribes that focus on a single trait (Abnegation, Candor, Erudite, Amity, Dauntless). Her unexpected choice sets larger political wheels in motion.

If you took the Hunger Games, gave it 4 instead of 12 districts, made the protagonist blonde and slim, made the Games slightly less gory, and removed the sickening love triangle, you'd have Divergent. Like Suzanne Collins, Veronica Roth tells her story in present tense, which tends to whip the story past textual gaps at a breathtaking pace. For a style that quickly moves the reader into the text, I found myself on page 301 wondering when something was going to happen. Eventually the expected bloodbath gets underway, and the plot hurdles itself into a lofty cliffhanger.

"The [no spoilers] guards close the gate and lock it behind them. The lock is on the outside. I bite my lip. Why would they lock the gate from the outside and not the inside? It almost seems like they don't want to keep something out; they want to keep us in." - Page 128

Too bad this great little piece of premonition never actually gets used in the plot. I could probably handle the ragged textual gaps, since the plot is still engaging, if it wasn't for the romance. OK, I know it's YA lit and it has to have some romantic interest for the fantasizing 13 year olds, but really? Does it have to come in this kind of packaging and volume?

"I know exactly how much space is between us. Six inches. I lean. Less than six inches. I feel warmer, like he's giving off some kind of energy that I am only now close enough to feel. " - Page 240  

" 'Fine.' He leans his face closer to mine, his eyes focusing on my chin, my lips, my nose. 'I watched you because I like you.' He says it plainly, boldly, and his eyes flick up to mine." - Page 337 

While I know that neither of these quotes is necessarily disgusting, it's the frequency that does it to me. Dear Veronica, can we have at least some interaction between characters that's not charged with teenage lust? It wears me out. Sincerely, Kate

Divergent is clearly riding the tidal wave of YA dystopia/brave female protagonist/Byronic hero novels, but it's still entertaining. Like the old roller coaster, it's a bit disappointing, but perhaps there's a reason people still stand in line for it.

Next Post: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Paper Towns

Paper Towns

Written by John Green

Published by Speak in 2009

320 Pages.

Genre: Pure Awesomeness, Romance, Adventure, Journey.

Summery: Quentin grew up next door to the perfectly awesome Margo Roth Speigelman. They have adventures as kids and then eventually grow farther and farther apart as they grow older. By the time they're in High School, Margo has a brilliantly cultivated bada$$ image, and Quentin is a certified band geek. But one night, Margo pulls Quentin back into her life- right before she disappears. Quentin has to understand Margo before he can find her.

Response: Totally loved it. Although the plot may sound a bit stale, it's gripping and unpredictable. The characters are very well done- not at all the typical HS romance. I got a side cramp from laughing while reading it, but it also has some deeper themes woven into it as well. This is one book I had to buy.

Word of Caution: Language, sexual references, crude humor.

Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging

Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging.

Written by Louise Rennison

Published by HarperTeen in 2001

272 pages.

Genre: Humor, Social Issues

Summery: The diary of 14 year old Georgia Nicolsen. It contains tales of her 3 year old sister who leaves wet diapers in Georgia's bedroom, her cat Angus who is part Scottish wildcat and eats dogs, eyebrow disasters, an oh-so-hot guy she calls The Sex God, and yes- snogging. It's a refreshingly British novel with a delightful narrator.

Response: Absolutely hilarious. It had a little too much Jr High drama for me (but I have an insanely low tolerence for drama). It was well done; the book worked well as a diary.

Word of Caution: Snogging. Sexual references. British swearing.

An Abundance of Katherines

An Abundance of Katherines

Written by John Green

Published by Speak in 2008

272 pages.

Genre: Romance, Humor

Summery: Colin Singleton is a child prodigy who just graduated from highschool. For a super smart kid, he's kind of dumb. He's just been dumped for the 19th time. All his girlfriends have been named Katherine. And every last one of them has dumped him. Colin is depressed and unmotivated, so his best friend drags him on a road trip- a sure cure. They drive all the way from Chicago to Gunshot, Tennessee. There, they stay for a while. They make new friends, work a weird job, hunt pigs, and Colin tries to come up with a math formula that can predict romantic relationships.

Response: Very well written. Absolutely hilarious. Dorky- in a nice way. Too much bad language for my taste. Probably wouldn't let my brother read it. Probably won't read it again. Enjoyed it anyway.

Word of Caution: Frequent cursing. (I say frequent, and I mean almost every sentence the kids speak. Yuck.) Sex.

13 Little Blue Envelopes

13 Little Blue Envelopes
Written by Maureen Johnson
Published by HarperTeen in 2006
352 pages.

Genre: Adventure, Romance

Summery: 17 year old Ginny gets a package with 13 little blue envelopes and 4 rules in it. It's from her dead aunt. Ginny travels to Europe, opening each of the numbered envelopes after she completes the task contained in the last. She meets all kinds of people and sees great sights.

Response: A fun travel book. It's entertaining, and the characters are well written. I like how Ginny is independent, but not in the typical rebellious teen way. There's not a lot of deeper stuff to think about, but I would recommend it. Don't be put off by the slightly skanky cover; Ginny is a very wholesome person.

Word of Caution: Some teen drinking, and a brief sex related scene wherein Ginny chooses the right and flees temptation. A reference to homosexuality.

"The Unlikely Romance of Kate Bjorkman"

The Unlikely Romance of Kate Bjorkman
Written by Louise Plummer
Published by Laural Leaf in 1997
192 pages.

Genre: Humor, Romance

Summery: Kate is 17 and writing her own romance novel. She recounts the story of how she fell in love at Christmas. The story begins when her older brother comes home for Christmas with his wife, his best friend Richard, and Richard's gorgeous friend, Fleur. Kate tells how she fell in love with Richard, using helpful phrases from The Romance Writer's Phrase Book. The book also tells a lesser tale of how she realizes she hates her best friend and actually like who she should hate (Fleur). It shows a great little family at Christmas, with the typical arguments, laughs, and traditions. A quick, fun read.

Response:
Reasons why I liked this book:
1. It has my name in the title.
2. It's a cute love story that's relatively un-sappy.
3. It made me snicker and giggle while we were reading in class. Embarrassing for me, but it's hilarious.
4. The heroine is tall with glasses and a high GPA.
5. It's a YA novel with realistic, humorous parents involved.
6. She's friends with her brother.
7. There's kissing in moderation.
8. The hero is awesome, but not perfect.

Word of Caution: I think some of the characters drink alcohol. Maybe a little mild language. Kissing. (Should that be a warning? Just don't let 11 yr olds read the smooching parts, I guess.) If you read this in a quiet room, you will disrupt others with snorts of escaping laughter.

"Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac" - Gabrielle Zevin

"Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac"

Written by Gabrielle Zevin

Published in 2009 by Square Fish

304 pages

Genre: Friends/Social Issues, Romance

Summery:

Naomi is a junior in high school. She is on the yearbook staff with her best friend, Will. One day she loses a coin toss and ends up falling down the steps of the school. She suffers severe memory loss of everything since 6th grade. She doesn't understand her boyfriend, her best friend, her parents' divorce, or the new kid at school. She struggles trying to find out who she is. Which version of her is the true Naomi? The novel explores social pressures, teen romance, family, gay relationships, and identity.

Response: Not a bad book. Pretty well-written, although the whole amnesia thing had some gaps (no pun intended). It was interesting enough that I read it all in one sitting. The characters behave realistically and are well rounded. It's not a book I would buy to read again, but I think it was worth my time.

Word of Caution: Teenage drinking, sex, homosexuality

"Impossible" - Nancy Werlin

"Impossible"

Written by Nancy Werlin

Published in 2010 by Puffin Books

288 pages

Genre: Supernatural, Romance

Summery:

This novel is based on an old folk song called "Scarborough Fair". Lucy Scarborough is 17, and her mother is insane. Stark raving mad. Lucy lives with her foster parents and has a pretty normal life - until she goes to the prom. She is raped by her date, who then immediately runs out and kills himself. Lucy becomes pregnant. She also finds out that her family is cursed to be raped when 17, have a daughter when 18, and then go mad after the child is born. She can only break the curse by doing three impossible tasks. Along the way, she falls in love and gets married. It's full of weird magic, teenage love, and that persistent Simon and Garfunkle song you're humming already.

Response: Eh. Didn't like it. I have a problem with fantasy and magic. I have a bigger problem with teenage lovers. The writing was so-so. I finished it just because I'm obsessive like that. Only read it if you really like this kind of thing.

Word of Caution: Rape. Creepy elfin knight dude.