My Life in…

This is a moving book. Eddie and her mother are taking different routes on the grieving process but it’s all pretty bleak. Her relationships with Culler and Milo are both helpful and antagonistic at different points in the novel, which definitely helped raise the stakes. I was proud that I figured out most of the mystery (that never happens!) but it was well-developed. If it has one flaw, it’s that I’m not sure we get a total picture of what Eddie was like before her father’s death. There are allusions to how her friendship with Milo was previously but it didn’t give me quite enough of a sense of who she was. I’m not sure it matters that much, since the book is about her grief.

This book is moving and lovely and if I were more of a fan of magical realism, it would be one of my favorites. It definitely portrays how grim the situation was for people in New Orleans who were either unable or unwilling to leave their homes. I cringed as they huddled in the attic, knowing how dangerous that could be. I typically don’t like illustrated covers, but this one is also quite lovely. I was less enamored of the ghosts, but that’s just my personal issue. The writing is gorgeous and the characters are moving and serious middle grade readers will love this.

This is a sweet middle grade novel. The cupcakes on the cover will draw in readers as will Foster’s charm and the amusing secondary characters. There wasn’t anything to dislike, but nothing really wowed me in this one, despite the fact that I’m a huge Joan Bauer fan.

I absolutely adored the first two books in the series, and while this is just as well-written as the others, I wasn’t quite as in love with it. (Minor Spoilers Follow).

My issue was that the family was right. Belly and her boyfriend should not get married at this point in their lives. She was 18 and he was young as well, and there was no reason they needed to get married that summer. Her parents even offered to support them in moving in together, and having a long engagement. Without the wedding, this book would have no plot, but I wished that it had a different one, or took place a few years later, when Belly was finished with college, rather than just out of her freshman year. The characters were great and the writing was wonderful, but the book hangs on a premise that I find faulty – and it makes me dislike Belly for going along with it. I still recommend the series, but wish the third book met the high bar set by the preceding volumes.

Reviewed from e-galley received from Simon and Schuster

I was really looking forward to this book, since The Half-Life of Planets was among my favorites of last year, but I was less enamored with this one. The characters are nice enough, but the pacing was a little weird, and it seemed unlikely that the two had worked together so intimately for such a long time and never bothered to get to know each other. I was also not as interested in the theatre camp part of it. It seemed to be forced and didn’t make much sense plot arc-wise. The scenes at the house where they are alone together show just how great the book could be, but on the whole, it didn’t work for me.

A review of this story does not do it justice. The only thing I could do would be to quote parts of it wholesale and I’d certainly have trouble choosing. The definitions are lovely and thought-provoking and heartbreaking and touching. The language is exquisite and the words that Levithan chooses to highlight are perfection. This is perhaps the most gorgeous book I’ve ever read language-wise. I cannot recommend this book highly enough for lovers of poetry and words. (The Twitter feed offers additional definitions – I’d recommend that was well).

This was a lovely book. I can see why it had a lot of Newbery buzz, but I liked One Crazy Summer better. Caitlin is a lovely character and her journey is interesting to read. I enjoyed seeing her father respond to her as well, and her relationship with Michael. This is a very sweet, cute story that will bring a few tears to your eyes.

I have a soft spot for future Distopias and I absolutely loved this one. The world building was strong, the characterizations were strong and the writing was strong. I really felt for Lena, especially with regards to her family situation. I liked the ways in which the teens rebelled and how music and poetry is presented as a threat to the establishment. I enjoyed Before I Fall (though not as much as most people did) but this one is even stronger. Highly recommended.

I haven’t read the Luxe series though I’ve heard a lot about it, but I’ve been interested in the Roaring 20s since I read The Wakefields of Sweet Valley as a kid. This was a fun read, and I’m glad I picked it up. Cordelia and Letty’s adventures feel very believable and I liked the relationships between the characters and the many mistakes they made. I will definitely pick up the sequel to find out what happens next.