Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler Review

(Photo credit: goodreads.com)

 

          They say never to judge a book by its cover… but I just couldn’t help myself with this one! The cover drew me in. It is seriously one of the most beautiful covers I have ever seen. At first, I expected this to be a light summer novel. With the title and the cute cover, I expected it to be about girls who go on vacation and meet boys. You know, your typical summer romance. However, after reading it, I can say this is definitely not your typical summer novel.

           Twenty Boy Summer follows Anna. Anna has always had a crush on her best friend Frankie’s older brother, Matt. When Matt kisses her on her fifteenth birthday, they secretly start dating. Matt decides that he will tell Frankie about his relationship with Anna when he and Frankie go on vacation to Zanzibar Bay. However, this never happens—before they go on vacation, Matt dies from a heart condition that nobody knew about.

            Thirteen months later, Frankie is still in the dark about Anna and Matt’s relationship and Anna is still not over Matt’s death. When Frankie asks Anna to go to Zanzibar Bay, she proposes that they meet 20 different boys to have the ‘Absolute Best Summer Ever.’ Anna is hesitant to agree with Frankie’s plan, but when she does she does not expect to fall in love or confront Matt’s death for good. 

            Twenty Boy Summer is beautifully written. Unlike most young adult novels, Twenty Boy Summer is not full of designer references, mean girls, or vampires. Instead, Ockler crafts a nearly perfect story full of love and heartbreak that left me experiencing the same emotions as the characters in the story. I seriously NEVER cry when reading books or watching movies. However, this book made me tear up quite a few times. Be prepared to go through a box of tissues on one page and laugh out loud on the next!

            However, what makes this novel so special are the characters. Each character has a different personality and deals with death in a different way. I could easily relate to many of the characters, and I don’t think anyone else would have much trouble either since there is such a variety.

            Even though I loved all the characters, Matt is definitely one of my favorites of the bunch . While he is only in the book for the first few chapters, the flashbacks that are sprinkled throughout the rest of the novel make you fall in love with him just as Anna did. However, the only downside to this is that I did not like Anna’s summer fling, Sam, as much as I loved Matt.

            The only bad part in Twenty Boy Summer is Frankie’s parents’ case of ‘missing parent syndrome.’ Even though Frankie says that they pick and choose what they want to hear, it becomes increasingly unbelievable that her parents never know about her and Anna’s true whereabouts. Throughout the novel, Frankie and Anna venture off on their own, even as far as San Francisco which is two hours away, and Frankie’s parents do not catch onto their lying. While it allows the characters to have a wild and care-free summer, it just comes off as unbelievable.

           Although the cover suggests that Twenty Boy Summer is an easy beach read, it is not a light novel and can be enjoyed anytime of the year.

Disclaimer: I borrowed Twenty Boy Summer from the library (but I need to own it because it is one of my favorite books!). I am not being compensated for this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own!



Breanna Blabbers: My Favorite Love Interests

 

(Photo credit: thehungergames.wikia.com)

       They make our hearts beat faster. They make us fan girl. And they make us fall in love with them. No, I'm not talking about One Direction. I'm talking about the boys of YA fiction. Here are my favorite YA guys and why:

♥Dexter from This Lullaby- I LOVE DEXTER. Wes has always been my favorite Sarah Dessen guy...but Dexter is definitely creeping up on him! I seriously fell head over heels the second he came into the story. The whole part about "our song" was just so cute! He has quirks and I love them!

♥Finnick from The Hunger Games- When Finnick first appeared in Catching Fire, I was like, "Peeta and Gale, who?" Seriously though, who doesn't love Finnick? Whenever someone asks me who I would want to be in The Hunger Games, I say Annie. Every. Single. Time. (And, by the way, how perfect is Sam Claflin? I LOVE him in Pirates of the Caribbean.)

 ♥Four from Divergent- Tris is one lucky gal. I seriously love Four. I like that his flaws are real, like being afraid of Marcus. Sometimes YA guys have "flaws," which aren't really flaws. But Four has them, and they make him such a great character. And such a great love interest. Um, where can I find myself a Four?

♥Wes from The Truth About Forever- Every single time that Wes appears on a page I seriously go straight into fangirl mode. I do not know what it is, but I just start squealing and jumping around. I think my family questions my sanity whenever I read The Truth About Forever. I honestly have no idea what is, but I just love him SO much.

Disclaimer: I am not being compensated for this article. All thoughts and opinions are my own!

The Selection by Kiera Cass Review

(Photo: kieracass.com)

 

         The Selection by Kiera Cass immediately caught my eye and not only because the dress on the cover is beautiful. The Selection promises to be a mixture of The Hunger Games and The Bachelor. The on-your-toes action of Hunger Games mixed with some juicy Bachelor drama? I was sold! However, after reading, I am sad to say: The Selection by Kiera Cass should not be a selection on your reading list.

            Years into the future, the United States has been renamed Illéa after it has been destroyed by war and divided into 35 provinces. The new country is not only divided by provinces, but by castes as well. Caste One is held by the royal family in contrast to Caste Eight, which faces starvation and poverty.

America (I-bet-you-can-guess-her-occupation) Singer, the story’s protagonist, belongs to Caste Five. Although her family is not dirt poor like those in Caste Eight, they still struggle with financial issues. Her “caste climber” mother has the solution to their economic problems—The Selection. The Selection consists of 35 girls (one from each province) competing for the prince’s hand in marriage.

Being selected brings fame and fortune, however, America does not want either. Instead, she wants to marry her secret boyfriend Aspen, who belongs to Caste Six. However, as fate not so surprisingly turns out, America is selected to compete and is whisked away to the palace to win Prince Maxon’s affections.

            While The Selection’s plot might seem like a good idea in theory, it is not executed well. If you are like me and expect a mixture of The Bachelor and The Hunger Games, you will be greatly disappointed, since it’s not as entertaining as The Bachelor or as well written as The Hunger Games. Furthermore, The Selection feels unoriginal, as many aspects of the novel seem to come straight from The Hunger Games and the recent raft of other dystopian novels. Now, I’m not one of those people that constantly belittle any new dystopian book and think that The Hunger Games should be thrust onto a dystopian pedestal (even though it is one of my favorite series). However, if you are directly comparing your novel to The Hunger Games, I am going to find similarities, and I found plenty in The Selection.

            Likewise, I was completely dissatisfied with the "dystopia" (I use this term loosely) aspect of the novel. Although The Selection is set in the future and sells itself as a dystopian compete-or-die book, there is nothing truly dystopian in the novel. Sure, the author throws in that there is a war and the previous United States has fallen apart, but other than that, it is simply about the girls vying for Prince Maxon’s attention. A true dystopian novel focuses on a current problem in society and exaggerates it to show possible consequences for our behavior. The Selection does neither and attempts to establish any type of dystopia in a flimsy history lesson.

            Besides lacking in content, The Selection’s characters are lackluster. America’s character is completely inconsistent. The author tries to make her a strong heroine, but she only comes across as another flighty teenage girl. Hint: Red hair is not the only characterization for being strong. However, I did enjoy when she told Prince Maxon she was there for the food. That is totally something that I would do. In addition, there are so many contestants that I struggled to remember their names and personalities. The most popularly mentioned contestants have one-dimensional personalities and add nothing to the story.

            The so-called “love triangle” is laughable at best. Honestly, I have not idea which relationship to root for since neither guy is very appealing. Aspen’s personality is too hot and cold, and he becomes easily angered. On the other hand, Prince Maxon is awkward and stiff. However, to the author’s credit, Prince Maxon is at least not the typical, arrogant male lead of the young adult genre. Nevertheless, it is hard to tell how America, or us readers, can fall for either.

            Yet, the worst part of the novel is the dialogue. The dialogue, especially between America and Prince Maxon, is forced and uncomfortable. The author tries to make Prince Maxon sound like royalty, but instead, it just makes him sound gawky and strange. I literally cringed at one scene and had to put that book aside. I am even an awkward person, but the scene was so awkward that I struggled to read it!

            All in all, I am not a fan of The Selection. However, I am interested in checking out the second novel in the series to see if it improves. 

Disclaimer: I borrowed The Selection from my library. I am not being compensated for this review in any way! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Book Haul: June 5, 2013

 

I purchased That Summer by Sarah Dessen yesterday for only $1.99! Now I only need three books to complete my Sarah Dessen collection-What Happened to Goodbye, Someone Like You, and The Moon and More. This isn't really a haul, as it is only one book, but I thought I would share it with you since I love Sarah Dessen. I must say, I really love this cover. The colors are so pretty and it makes me want to go to the beach! I also haven't read That Summer in forever, so I'll need to read it again.