Finding Audrey By Sophie Kinsella

Publication Date: June 9, 2015
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Rating: ★★★★

An anxiety disorder disrupts fourteen-year-old Audrey’s daily life. She has been making slow but steady progress with Dr. Sarah, but when Audrey meets Linus, her brother’s gaming teammate, she is energized. She connects with him. Audrey can talk through her fears with Linus in a way she’s never been able to do with anyone before. As their friendship deepens and her recovery gains momentum, a sweet romantic connection develops, one that helps not just Audrey but also her entire family.

Review:

I tried to read this book in Summer of 2016, and I couldn’t find myself getting past page 50. I tried and tried, and felt myself reading the same sentence over again. So, I put it down. I was at my local library when I saw it again, and I said “why not?” and took it home with me. I’m honestly glad I did. This book was very entertaining in every aspect. At some parts, it did slow down, but it picked right back up again. It was extremely interesting looking at the things that Audrey was going through. It makes a person think, “does that actually happen?”. As someone who struggles with anxiety, and knows others who have severe anxiety disorders, it was super awesome learning about Audrey and her experiences. I say to anyone interested in this book: push through the first couple of pages. It really does turn out to be an awesome book. Lastly, I love Sophie Kinsella, and this is her first try at Young Adult, and I think she did a wonderful job.

Love You Better by Natalie K. Martin

Publication Date: October 1, 2015
Publisher: Union Lake Publishing
Rating: ★★★★

After a soul-destroying breakup with her ex, Smith, Effie Abbott has met the man of her dreams. She’s had the whirlwind romance and the fairy-tale wedding to the charming and suave Oliver Barton-Cole, and life seems firmly back on track. Things were never simple between Smith and Effie, so when he forces his way back into her life, Effie knows he’s a complication she doesn’t want or need. After all, she has Oliver, a man who loves her better than Smith ever did. But when cracks in her marriage begin to emerge and Oliver shows flashes of a darker side, Effie has to question just how well she really knows her husband, and whether Smith is back to derail her seemingly perfect marriage or save her from it.

Review:

This book was hard to read. I’m not entirely sure of how I thought this book was supposed to be, but I’m definitely glad I read it. Love You Better shows the ache of a true heartbreak, love, and a lot of other feelings that I didn’t know I could endure during a book. I’ve read a few books, and I’m not sure I’ve ever wanted to kill a main character before. I legitimately got so mad that I had to leave the book and come back to it a few times. This story shows things that happen in real life and I think that is what made me so emotional. Love You Better might have not been my favorite book on the planet, but it was written well and had an empowering story.

 

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Publication Date: September 10, 2013
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Rating: ★★★★★

A coming-of-age tale of fan fiction, family and first love.  Cath is a Simon Snow fan. Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan… But for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving. Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere. Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to. Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words… And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone. For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories? And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

Okay,  I think I might have set a personal record with this book. I started this book on a Sunday afternoon at 5 PM and finished the entire 445 pages by Monday at 3 PM. Less than twenty-four hours. I was captivated from the very beginning. I did not want to put this book down.

This story is a journey of a teen girl, Cather, who has a twin sister, Wren, and they are both starting college. Read those names again. One more time. I actually threw my head back with laughter when I figured it out. I need a book that’ll give me the feeling that this book did over and over again. I want to read more, but I am scared that I will compare this book to others.

I am a person who understands the terms in this book. It’s about Cather writing fanfiction about a character named Simon Snow (who I think is supposed to be Harry Potter). Whether you understand fanfiction and the terms that come with it doesn’t matter because this book was fabulous regardless. However, it was even better knowing what Cather, Wren, and Levi (Cather’s love interest gone awry) speak about.

There were many memorable quotes from this book, but one stood out for me:

“In new situations, all the trickiest rules are the ones nobody bothers to explain to you. (And the ones you can’t Google.)”

I would give this book 100 stars if I could!

Brown-Eyed Girl by Lisa Kleypas

Publication Date: August 11, 2015
Publisher: Piatkus
Rating: ★★★★★

Wedding planner Avery Crosslin may be a rising star in Houston society, but she doesn’t believe in love–at least not for herself. When she meets wealthy bachelor Joe Travis and mistakes him for a wedding photographer, she has no intention of letting him sweep her off her feet. But Joe is a man who goes after what he wants, and Avery can’t resist the temptation of a sexy southern charmer and a hot summer evening. After a one night stand, however, Avery is determined to keep it from happening again. A man like Joe can only mean trouble for a woman like her, and she can’t afford distractions. She’s been hired to plan the wedding of the year–a make-or-break event. But complications start piling up fast, putting the wedding in jeopardy, especially when shocking secrets of the bride come to light. And as Joe makes it clear that he’s not going to give up easily, Avery is forced to confront the insecurities and beliefs that stem from a past she would do anything to forget. The situation reaches a breaking point, and Avery faces the toughest choice of her life. Only by putting her career on the line and risking everything–including her well-guarded heart–will she find out what matters most.

Review:

Avery and Joe are lovely in this book. I loved the story of how the met, how romantic Joe is, and how insecure Avery is while Joe shows her beautiful she is. Lisa Kleypas targeted the women that don’t always feel good in their skin with this book. Avery is described to be plump and be bigger than a size 10. I couldn’t really see it with the woman on the front of the cover. However, Joe is described as a big, broad, rugged, Texan man that could easily carry Avery around anytime she liked. I liked that part as someone who struggles with insecurity. It shows that there is someone out there for everyone. I love that kind of classic romance. The story of how the relationship goes is engaging because of Avery’s constant denial and Joe’s constant battle to get Avery on his side. Love this book. Love the Travises series.

 

Looking For Alaska by John Green

Publication Date: December 28th, 2006
Publisher: Speak
Rating: ★★★★★

Before. Miles “Pudge” Halter is done with his safe life at home. His whole life has been one big non-event, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave “the Great Perhaps” even more (Francois Rabelais, poet). He heads off to the sometimes crazy and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young. She is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart. Then. . . .
After. Nothing is ever the same.

Review:

This book was an attention-grabber right from the start. I really had an issue putting this book down. Learning about the characters and how they thought and how they worked was extremely intriguing. The attention of this story gets scooped up to the “After” section, where if you are a crier (like me), you will need a TON of tissues. I’m not exaggerating. I went through two full boxes of tissues. Please use caution when reading this book, but it was so wonderful. John Green is an exquisite writer, and a personal favorite of mine.