Tag Archives: yalit

Review- Annie on My Mind

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Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden

AnnieOnMyMindRating: 5/5 stars

“I tried so hard to think– but there was only one word on my mind and that word was ‘Annie'”

Liza Winthrop is a high school senior busy with student council, college applications, and attending an extremely Catholic school. While visiting a museum, she runs into a girl, Annie, who completely turns her life around. Annie shares her world, a low-income town and a room full of flowers, while Liza shares hers, a love for architecture and a caring younger brother. These two girls become inseparable and somewhere along the way find themselves with deeper feelings for each other.

I cannot express how important this book is. This is the book to read for adolescent girls trying to discover their sexualities. The story of Liza and Annie is so touching and real that it can really speak to young adults experiencing the same feelings, questions, and confusion. Every time I hear of a girl struggling to come to terms with her sexuality, I just want to shove this book in her face and say “it’s okay! Stop beating yourself up for something you have no control over”.

Not only is this an important LGBT novel, but it’s such a cute story. It’s a story about two people discovering what it means to love someone and seeing how powerful that emotion can be. Annie on My Mind may be about two girls, but has nothing to do with the fact that it’s like every other novel written about teenagers falling in love. I loved everything about this book and found myself in a good mood every time I picked it up.

Review- Room

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Room by Emma Donohgue

41zGJ8k52tL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_Rating: 3.4/5 stars

Jack has just turned 5 years old, and his world consists of an 11×11 foot room. This doesn’t bother him much because he knows nothing of the outside world. Now that he’s 5, Ma begins to tell Jack that grass, ice cream, and other kids actually exist on the other side of Wall and Roof and not just in the TV. Jack and Ma create a plan to escape Room, but it’s extremely risky. If they were able to escape, how would Jack cope with being outside in the fresh air, with other people for the first time?

This book was just okay. There was nothing really special about it and I honestly don’t understand what all the hype is around it. I didn’t feel attached to any of the characters, so I was really ambivalent to any of the big events that happened to Ma or Jack. There were horrible, traumatic, and sad things that occurred throughout the book, but I didn’t have that emotional attachment to care about them enough.

I think the problem with Room is that its entirely narrated by a five year old kid. This, obviously, makes his world very bias. The book would have been so much deeper if it had switched between Ma and Jacks POVs. By sticking only to Jack’s POV, it’s almost like Donoghue was taking the easy road. Ma could have been such a complex character, but we merely got a glimpse into how she was feeling.

I understand that this is a great bookclub book– there are a lot of controversial issues to discuss. Despite this, as a pleasure read, I’m disappointed with it. I was really hoping for better.

Review- Why We Broke Up

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Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

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“After the sugar caper I never want to see it again.
Here it is, Ed. Nor I, you.”

Min Green has left a box of random objects on her ex-boyfriend, Ed Slaterton’s, doorstep. Each item signifies some event in their relationship that explains why they eventually broke up. It was love at first beer, chasing down an elderly movie star, and coffee with three creams and one sugar. But somehow, Ed blew it, and this is Min telling him exactly how he blew it.

I really wanted to like this book. I have a soft spot in my heart for Daniel Handler after reading “The Series of Unfortunate Events” in elementary school. In 5th grade, we had to write a report on our favorite author and I, of course, chose Daniel Handler. That series taught me to love reading. That being said, this book felt like a waste of my time.

We’ve all heard it before– a quiet girl gets asked out by a jock who says “that’s so gay” and is embarrassed to do well in math class. I can’t count the amount of times Ed tells Min she’s “not like other girls”. What is that even supposed to mean? What is soincredibly wrong with the general population of girls that one must try to dissociate from the entire gender?

I guess I was just annoyed while I read this book. The story wasn’t necessarily boring, just full of stereotypes that made me roll my eyes every few pages. Maybe I just expected too much out of this book.

I promise you that you’ve read or seen this story before–an early 2000’s movie or any other YA romance. This just happens to be told after the happily ever after.

Review- A Little Something Different

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A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall

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Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Pages: 243

“This is going to be another one of those stories about how she gazed at him adoringly while he stared out the window or something. That’s how a lot of the Gabe stories go these days.”

Lea and Gabe are both incoming freshmen at the same college. They’re sort of “lost souls”, living their own separate lives that have absolutely nothing to do with each other, until they start “flirting” in creative writing class. Lea and Gabe are completely oblivious to the fact that they’re perfect for each other, but that doesn’t their separate friend groups from constantly trying to set them up together.

**spoiler ahead**
This book was cute. It was definitely very cute and very-perfect-couple-heavily-flirting type of deal. It was fun at first, but things got a little too predictable towards the end. I felt like a lot of the same ideas and conversations were happening over and over again. Lea and Gabe ALMOST got together so many times. It was frustratingly adorable at first, but then it got old.

A Little Something Different was a very quick and light read. It was a good book, but a good book for the right time. I read this in the midst of a reading slump, and its cheer definitely brought me out of that slump. So, if you’re looking for a fast read that’ll leave you feeling happy, this is it.

Review- A Time to Reap

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A Time to Reap by Jonas Lee

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

22819890“There is going to come a day when the things you say are going to return to you faster than you send them. A wise person would make certain their words aren’t so sharp.”

At the age of 12, Carter found himself developing a strange power called “leaping”. He can essentially jump to different places along earth’s space-time continuum, mostly leaving him confused and lacking clothes. He attends a school for “special” kids like him, sharing a variety of powers, called Pemberton Academy. There, he befriends (and crushes on) a girl named Mo. Mo doesn’t share the exact same powers as Carter, but they are certainly strong. Together, this duo is called to action by some of the most powerful people to ever exist and change the world.

Wow, I’m really glad I read this book! I usually find myself bored halfway through most YA books, but this was an exception. I was drawn in by the 2nd chapter and found myself laughing out loud at the narration–the voice of Carter, a sarcastic, teenage boy. The POV was a very good choice on Jonas Lee’s part.

Carter’s character was extremely well-developed. I feel like I’ve known him for years! I wish that we got to see more of Mo’s personality shine through Carter’s narration. I still feel like I don’t fully understand her and what she was thinking throughout the novel. She was my favorite character and I’m dying to know more about her!

To me, the ending was a bit unsatisfying. But, then again, I think Mr. Lee is setting this up for a sequel? If that’s the case, then it’s the perfect ending and I really really look forward to reading the next book. I can’t wait to get my hands on a paperback copy of this book ASAP!

Review- Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

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Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

MissPeregrineCover“When someone won’t let you in, eventually you stop knocking. Know what I mean?”

Following his grandfather’s strange and sudden death, Jacob goes on a quest to learn more about the old man’s mysterious childhood. He travels to a strange island off the coast of Wales and discovers an abandoned orphanage. As Jacob explores the place, it turns out that the not-so-abandoned orphanage was actually expecting his arrival.

The concept behind this novel was so A+. The first chapter immediately drew me in. The mixture of a creepy grandfather death and spooky old photos really did the trick. I don’t usually read fantasy or YA, so I was pleasantly surprised with how this novel took off.

Unfortunately, the execution of this A+ idea was not so great. I was bored half-way through the novel. I felt like there were so many plot additions piling up with no resolutions in sight. Despite this, I am glad that I finished the novel. The ending was definitely not a final one–a good set up for the sequel.

Idea: Great. Characters: Great. Plot: Meh.

I don’t think I’ll be reading the sequel, but then again, fantasy YA is not usually my genre of choice.