The Chase by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg

2.5 Stars

Kate O’Hare and Nick Fox are paired up once again for Book #2. This time, the duo needs to swap a forged national treasure, currently held in the Smithsonian, for the real deal which was stolen by Carter Grove, a former White House Chief of Staff turned thief.



But Kate and Nick can’t just let it go with the return of the stolen property. They aim to finally put Carter Grove behind bars. What better way to out crook a crook than by pulling off an elaborate art heist and selling Grove the stolen wares?



“Hi, my name is Kelly and I’m addicted to Janet Evanovich novels.”



Stop judging me.

I’m almost positive these books contain subliminal messages that force me to keep reading them. Me, the woman who almost always refuses to read Book #2 in a series has read TWENTY Stephanie Plums plus the “in between the numbers”, and all of the Wicked, Metro Girl now these O’Hare and Fox books (and yet another Plum is already in the works for release in June). I have a problem and I think there might only be one way out . . .



Do you ever get the feeling you’ve been some place before?



But when you look a little closer you realize that the houses aren’t quite as nice as you remember or the people don’t look as friendly? That’s kind of how I feel about O’Hare and Fox. Kate is smart, Fox is sexy, but they just aren’t as fun as the people I’m used to. Stephanie, Ranger, Joe and Grandma are old friends I like to visit from time to time. O’Hare and Fox are a little too polished and take themselves way too seriously, which kind of defeats the purpose of reading fluffy crap. However, I guarantee I’ll read the next one. And the one after that. And the one after that.

Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rufkin Brunt

1 Star

 

The year is 1987 and June has just lost the most important person in her life to AIDS. After the death of her Uncle Finn, June makes an unlikely friend and learns some hard truths about her family and herself.

Please note you will NOT get me to change my opinion, so if you just loveloveloved Tell the Wolves I’m Home and can’t understand how anyone could not – you should probably just move along. I know I have chosen the road less taken, but I have to own up to the fact that I did not like this book. At all. I think the only reason it received the hype it did was that Carol Rifka Brunt made it take place at the onset of the AIDS crisis. If Finn died of just plain old cancer, no one would have given two shits about this novel. If you liked it, more power to you. As for me, my 1 Star rating, and this review????

Every moment in this novel felt forced. Rather just saying we’re in 1986/87, the issue is pushed with horrible “product placement” type announcements that are completely unnecessary (i.e., “the Rubix cube on the dresser”, or “wax on/wax off”, or “Tiffany’s new remake of an old classic – “I Think We’re Alone Now” – playing on the radio. The only thing missing was June walking in wearing her “Frankie Say Relax” t-shirt). Rather than writing a story about familial relationships and how they can disintegrate so easily, the AIDS crisis has been pushed to the forefront as the excuse for bad behavior. Rather than letting June be devastated when her favorite person in the world dies (or making June’s character younger and experiencing “first love” with her uncle), instead we deal with a 14 year old and a type of love that pushes toward perversion rather than adoration. I realize (again) that I have taken a very unpopular opinion. But you know what?

I can’t remember reading a book where I liked the characters less than this. June is an idiot, Greta is a bully, the mother is a bitch, the father is absentee. The only person I wanted to know anything about was Toby. I want to read Toby’s story. I want to know everything about him in great detail. His childhood, how he fell in love with Finn, how he dealt with having AIDS back when even the President of the United States wouldn’t dare mention the name, what it felt like to get diagnosed with an illness that meant everyone would be terrified of you, and how he managed to survive losing the love of his life. Toby’s story is one that needs to be told – just not by Carol Rifka Brunt. She’d only f%$@ it up and make it dirty and horrible.

If you loved this book, I’m happy for you and please know I really wanted (expected) to as well. Sadly, it just wasn’t in the cards for me. Once again, I posted an honest review and

The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan

5 STARS!
Since I’m a huge Levithan fangirl, I got myself prepared to write this review by deciding to flag every “definition” that made me feel something while I was reading. Well, I definitely felt some things and flagged all some of the pages . . .



My feelings ranged from magical



like in the definitions of cache and gingerly and meander and posterity and rifle and sacrosanct and transient and unabashedly and woo and yesterday

to amused like in the definitions of candid and celibacy and deciduous and non sequitor and qualm

to honest like in the definitions of commonplace and epithet and inadvertent and perfunctory and recant and ubiquitous

to feeling as if I had been punched in the gut



like in the definitions for abyss and breach and dispel and fast and gamut and happenstance and jerk and livid and quixotic and raze and serrated and zenith

Levithan’s words move me like no other and I’m unapologetically in love with his writing.

What can I say? I might just be his #1 Fan.



“Measure the hope of that moment, that feeling. Everything else will be measured against it.”

Whenever I finish a David Levithan book, I find myself measuring other authors against him. Authors who I truly enjoy and would normally get recommended get thrown to the wayside so I can tell my friends to read Levithan instead. (Especially Two Boys Kissing. Drop whatever you are reading and go read Two Boys Kissing.)

“No matter how many words there are, there will never be enough.”

I am so enamored with Levithan’s writing that I am consciously spacing out his books and not allowing myself to consume them all because I know the above quote will hold true.

In an effort to avoid being sued by the author for republishing his work in its entirety while desperately attempting to convey my feelings in this review, I’m throwing in the towel and just telling you to read The Lover’s Dictionary. And then read everything else by David Levithan (even Every Day, which I didn’t much care for).

Oh, and one more thing. We should invent more words that begin with X.

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

5 Stars

 

An unlikely friendship develops between two women from two very different backgrounds during World War II. One working-class, one upper-crust. One a wireless operator, one a pilot. This is the story of their remarkable encounters and the experiences they endure when the unthinkable happens and one becomes a P.O.W.

Let me begin by stating that Code Name Verity is not a Young Adult novel. Now, don’t get me wrong – don’t discourage the YAs in your life from reading this book. They absolutely should read it. And then you should read it, and their grandparents should read it, and your neighbor should read it, and …. well, you get the picture.

I know it’s only March, but I’ve read a good chunk of books already this year and right now Code Name Verity sits at the top of my list. I’m fairly certain come December 31, this book will remain in the top 10 (or maybe even 5) of the “Best Things I Read In 2014.” It’s nearly perfect. Finally there is a book with not just one but TWO solid female lead characters. They don’t wait for some man to come save the day, they make their own destinies. Girls need to know that girls kick ass.

 

Always.

The setting is brilliant, the plot complex, the action is edge-of-your-seat and the twists are unexpected and thrilling. Read it. Break out of the comfort zone of not reading books set during WWII or not reading Young Adult novels or whatever other of your “nots” this may fall under. You won’t be disappointed.

The Fever by Megan Abbott

ARC received from NetGalley. Thank you NetGalley!!!!

3.5 Stars

When a popular high school girl suffers a seizure in class, her friends worry about what could possibly be wrong. When she is taken to the hospital, put in isolation, and other girls start experiencing the same symptoms, the entire town starts to panic. What could possibly be striking down these girls in the prime of their lives? Why is it only girls? Is it a side effect from HPV vaccinations? A tainted water supply? Or is it something more sinister?

Boy does Megan Abbott know how to capture the spirit of teenaged girls. Sugar and spice and everything nice . . .



Yep, that pretty much sums up my delightful real-life exchanges with this particular demographic.

Abott is sooooooo far ahead of the curve when it comes to taking the insufferable teen



to the next level



Reading Abbott’s work always makes me think of a few things I’m thankful for:

1. I’m thankful that I have stopped interchanging Megan Abbott with Meg Cabot when recommending books to co-workers' young children. You lose friends REALLY quickly when you confuse the author of The Princess Diaries with the author of Dare Me;

2. I’m grateful for having children with outies rather than innies; and

3. I’m sooooo appreciative that I did not know Ms. Abbott in high school. I’m terrified to think any of her characters may have been inspired from personal experience . . .





Highly recommended to anyone looking for an author who really pushes the envelope when it comes to the boundaries of Young Adult, who writes a story with tons of suspense and characters you love to hate.

 

Panic by Lauren Oliver

3 Stars

 

Dodge has always known he would play Panic, but his reason changed after his sister played and ended up paralyzed. Now he’s willing to do anything he can to win and fix his broken sibling.

Heather has been watching people compete in Panic for years, but never thought she would be a participant. When you live in a dead-end town like Carp, with a drunken druggie for a mother, a boyfriend who just dumped you, and no hope to escape without hitting some kind of jackpot – you do desperate things.

Like jump off a cliff …

or risk your life crossing a busy highway …

or spend the night in a haunted house …

Only the strongest will make it to the end – a one-on-one winner-takes-all game of chicken.

Ahhhh, close enough.

How far will Heather and Dodge go to win the $67,000 prize?

Panic was a solidly good story with a nice flow, but it didn’t rock my world. I have a major problem with lead females in suspense/action plots who spend too much time discussing the “butterflies in their stomach” every time they interact with a male character. It’s not a huge part of this book, but it was enough that it made me not like Heather – and if you don’t like the main character, it’s kind of hard to go gaga over the book. But as I said, the pace is good, the plot is interesting and unique, the duel narrators work well, and Lauren Oliver once again writes a book that will be a huge hit with the teens, but is also palatable for adults.

This Boy's Life by Tobias Wolff

4 Stars

 

I read this book almost two months ago and have struggled to come up with some kind (any kind) of review. Sometimes when I read a memoir I’m struck with the question “what made this person think their personal history was novel worthy?” Such is the case with This Boy’s Life. Sure Tobias Wolf had a shitty childhood, but when compared to other autobiographies (Night stands out as the most monumental personal history I can think of, or even The Glass Castle as the most bizarre are books that must have begged to be written). Whatever the reasoning behind Wolff’s decision, I’m glad he did.

I believe Wolff’s honesty while telling his story is both what made this book so memorable and made it so hard for me to summarize. Not only does he tell us about his stepfather, who was a real piece of work, but he is also honest about the fact that he was more than a handful himself during his formative years. While I wanted to jump into the pages and beat the living hell out of Dwight, at times I also wanted to jump in to wash Wolff’s mouth out with soap or give him a good throttling.

This book is so well-written and reads like fiction. A truly unforgettable coming-of-age story. If you’re generally not the sort who reads non-fiction, this is a great choice.


Sidenote: The movie adaptation features a fresh faced young boy who will give us a glimpse of the brilliant career that is to follow . . .