Between Here and Forever, by Elizabeth Scott

Title: Between Here and Forever

Author: Elizabeth Scott

Rating: 4/5 stars

Release Date: May 24, 2011

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Format: Paperback Edition

Goodreads Average Rating: 3.65

Age Group: 12+






     Lately, especially in Perfect You, I definitely thought that Elizabeth Scott wasn't writing her best. To me, Bloom was the best one, and The Unwritten Rule and this one in second place.

    Between Here and Forever was a very enjoyable novel, especially for me.

    In this great book, we have Abby, who's sister Tess, is in a coma, since New Year's Day, where she got in an accident. Abby misses her so much, and finds a way that she might wake her up. Definitely up to it, Abby's got a plan, and that plan will change her life forever, including finding a deep dark secret about her sister that nobody has known.

   In the beginning, it was great, then it got boring, until up to the part where we found out Tess's secret.

    This novel has taught all of us a lesson, to always try, and to never give up, unless you've tried your best. Abby is a great role model for all of us to take after,

     Even though we really never met Tess unless in flashbacks, I really connected to her, and found myself liking her as if she was awake. You know what? That's what the novel was supposed to be called, Awake.

   I felt that the romance didn't play a big role in this novel, finding out about Tess was the biggest thing, and I was glad that it was. Elizabeth Scott did a good job on this one, I want to see what else she has in store.

Forever Summer, by Alyson Noël

Title: Forever Summer

Author: Alyson Noël

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Release Date: April 26, 2011

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Format: Paperback Edition

Goodreads Average Rating: 3.61

Age Group: 12+





    Since two novels are included in this book, I'll review each of the two seperately, and then compare the two together.


Laguna Cove:

   I found that this one was the perfect summer beach read, why didn't I read it sooner?

  In Forever Summer, we have Anne, who's mother sends her to live with her director father in Laguna Beach, California. When she immediately fits in with the cool surfer crowd, Anne must choose between love and friendship, or the other way around. Learning to surf, going to her first Hollywood party, this summer for Anne will be the one of firsts and lasts.

    I love where this story started and ended. I was hooked in right away, and it never left me bored.

    Anne was a pretty good lead, I wouldn't say that she was the best, but she was likeable. Many readers will fall for her footsteps as she learns how to fit in.

   I'd say that my favourite characters were Lola and Jade. Even though Lola has that personality of thinking too good about herself, something about her made me really like her, she's the one who didn't take chances, but when someone pushed her, she tried. Jade was the only one who wasn't bratty, and I liked her easygoing personality as well.

  Ellie was a different story. To me, she was a selfish brat who wanted boys and everything to herself. She really was a whiny character who always had to get everything that she wanted, even when it wasn't easy.

  The romance wasn't the best, and I think this story could've done a little better, but I really enjoyed it, anyway.

4.5/5 stars


Cruel Summer:

   Alyson Noël really knows how to spice stories up, and this is a perfect example of one. Cruel Summer was the one to remember.

   In Cruel Summer, we have Colby, who's parents are getting through an ugly divorce, and decides to send her away to Tinos, Greece, where her supposedly "crazy" aunt Tally lives with her boyfriend, Tassos. Colby really isn't so happy about it, leaving her new popular friends behind, and that guy she recently hooked up with. Colby is in for a summer to remember, but she really just didn't know it, yet.

  I was literally obsessed with this novel, I kept raving about it to everyone around me, and wouldn't stop until the story was over.

  Everything happened so fast, and I felt like I was with Colby throughtout the whole summer. I wish that she was my best friend, she knows how to have fun!

  Colby wasn't what other people said about her, whiny and wanted to get the heck out of Greece. I found her as a charming, easygoing, bubbly teenager wanting to have fun in her life when everything's going wrong in California.

  Here, about everything was perfect. I loved the mysterious romance, the fun, the setting, the fast-paced plot, and the whole concept and meaning.

  I was upset with the ending, it kind of left us hanging, but then, really, we get to make an ending for ourselves.

   I adored this whole story, inside and out.

5/5 stars


Overall:

Okay, lets just get this over with, obviously, Cruel Summer was the best out of the two.

The characters, plot, setting, and just how the story flowed was much better than Laguna Cove.

 That's all, but here we had two beautiful stories!  

True Blue, by Deborah Ellis

Title: True Blue

Author: Deborah Ellis

Rating: 4/5 stars

Release Date: September 15, 2011

Publisher: Pajama Press

Format: Paperback Edition

Goodreads Average Rating: 3.45

Age Group: 11+

Why Did I Choose To Read This Novel?

It seemed very interesting and unique, a concept that I'm always looking for.     

My Review:

Finding this overally priced, I thought that this must be a really good book, and it really was. It surprised me, and made me feel relieved inside and out.

  True Blue is about seventeen year old Jess, whose best friend, Casey is surprisingly arrested for the murder of an annoying girl in Jess's and Casey's camp cabin. Evidence shows that Casey is the one. 

  Knowing that Casey never could have done such a thing, Jess is on the case and is ready to find out the truth, what really happened and what the police has against Casey herself. True Blue shows us that best friends are 'til the end.

   In the beginning, I wasn't so sure about reading this. I thought that it would just end with Casey being free and Jess reuniting with her. I'm just going to tell you this, everything always isn't what it seems...

  Jess was a good lead. All she wanted was her best friend to be with her, and I could tell that she was a independant gal.

  True Blue kept me guessing because of its suspenseful plot, and interesting characters. I want more!

  

Riptide, by Lindsey Scheibe

Title: Riptide

Author: Lindsey Scheibe

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Release Date: May 8, 2013

Publisher: Flux

Format: Paperback Edition

Goodreads Average Rating: 3.43

Age Group: 11+




Why Did I Choose To Read This Novel?

After reading Nikki Godwin's Chasing Forever Down, I think I became a sucker for surfing-romance novels.


My Review:

  One summer. Endless possibilites. I think that this little caption just explains it all for this novel. You really don't need a summary now, everything's all clear here.

  Riptide was unbelievable. WHY?! Why did this all happen?! Not that I regret reading this, because I didn't.

   In this awesome novel, we have Grace Parker, a girl who only has surfing on her mind. Her best friend, Ford Watson is her piggy-back, and together, they can accomplish anything. When Ford signs Grace up for a surfing competition, Grace has to practice and find the truth about her life, she has to get through that riptide that holds everything behind.

   Starting from page one, I was hooked. Grace's voice was so realistic, I haven't read any book lately that's lead really connected to me, and that I pictured them fully. This is what the author did to me.

  I kept flipping and flipping the pages, I never wanted it to end, and it did, way too quickly.

   The last novel that made me cry was S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders, and to me, that was a long time ago. Now, we have another novel that adds to the list, this one.

   Since I felt Grace's emotions very clearly, going through her situation also went through my mind. Seeing how cruelly her parents treated her, of course I had to cry, not shedding a few tears, like full-blast crying. I couldn't believe that something like this happens to people all around the world, if your parents treat you like that, with high-pressure and expectations, of course you want to run away or go live with someone else. I just wanted to be with her, and tell her that everything would be okay, that she would have to keep surfing, and that eventually, the world would come to its right place. She has Ford, and that was all that mattered.

  Since Grace's life depended on quotes, here's one that has inspired me today, and I know would for Grace as well:

“I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.” -Douglas Adams

  I think that I will remember this novel as the powerful, touching one that made me cry. Beautiful and inspirational.

 

Catching Jordan, by Miranda Kenneally

Title: Catching Jordan

Author: Miranda Kenneally

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Release Date: December 1, 2011

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Format: Paperback Edition

Goodreads Average Rating: 3.90

Age Group: 12+

   Who'd think that a book like this would be just soo yummy? 

   Catching Jordan made me feel like I was jumping in the fluffy white clouds. It was just too good!

    From every high school in Tenessee, there's only one that rules them all, Hundred Oaks. Jordan Woods is the star quarterback of Hundred Oaks High, where she, yes I said she, is team captain of the football team. Wanting to go to college in Michigan, she's playing as best as she ever did so far.

   Football isn't the only thing that's on her mind, when Tyler Green comes to the school as a new guy looking to be on the football team, Jordan realizes that she has some feelings for him. Wanting him and a scholarship, Jordan must decide what's the most important in her life, football, or love?

   I couldn't believe how amazing this book turned out to be. I was hooked in from the start, the plot caught my attention, and left me wanting more. I was never bored, and I can't wait for the next Hundred Oaks novels, I hope that they will be just as good as this one.

  Jordan was a fantastic lead. She's the type of girl that's strong, not only physically but emotionally, the type that says what's on her mind and confident inside and out. She's the one I wish that I was best friends with, she truly made my day.

  Sam Henry was one smokin' hottie. It was hilarious when the author added that special touch to him, coming over to sleep in Jordan's bed when he was depressed, and the funny remarks he said to his bestie, I was laughing the whole journey through.

   Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!

The Summer of Firsts and Lasts, by Terra Elan McVoy

Title: The Summer of Firsts and Lasts

Author: Terra Elan McVoy

Rating: 1.5/5 stars

Release Date: May 3, 2011

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Format: Hardcover Edition

Goodreads Average Rating: 3.40

Age Group: 13+

    I had high expectations for this novel, it got recommended to me and I thought that it'd be the perfect summer novel. Well, I was wrong.

    The Summer of Firsts and Lasts wasn't the novel for me. 

    First of all, I disliked the events. Nothing really "big" happened, did I mention that I didn't finish the novel at all? I read until about half of it, and then I threw it down, it made me so upset.

   When you thought that something big would happen, it never did. The author kept us guessing, but in a bad way. I was waiting for the calm after the storm, but it ended up being gloomy the whole way through. 

   Then we had the characters. They actually weren't so bad, I really liked Violet and Daisy, Violet reminded me of myself, the writer. Calla was the one who really didn't make a difference in this novel, I felt that she did nothing, and she was a brown-noser, if you know what I mean.

   The setting was good, you really don't see many teen novels that are set in a camp, right next to C.C. Hunter's Born at Midnight.

    Overall, I was really bored with this novel, and it really disappointed me. Please, trust me on this one.

Ash, by Malinda Lo

Title: Ash

Author: Malinda Lo

Rating: 3/5 stars

Release Date: September 1, 2009

Publisher: Little Brown Books

Format: Hardcover Edition

Goodreads Average Rating: 3.54

Age Group: 11+




Why Did I Choose It?

It sounded very interesting, and I've seen it everywhere.


Quote:

“The riders, too, were like nothing she had ever seen before: ethereal men and women with pale visages, their cheekbones so sharply sculpted that she could see their skulls through translucent skin. They surrounded her and looked at her with steely blue eyes, each gaze an arrow staking her to that spot, and she could not close her eyes though the sight of them made her eyes burn as if she were looking at the sun.”

My Review:

 I've always enjoyed retellings, so I knew that this one would be a match for me, or at least I thought it'd be.

 Ash was one of those novels that you could just let go, like, throwing a balloon into the air and watching it float away. It wasn't as good as I thought it'd be, and really in a way, didn't make sense.

  I thought that this would be more happier, come on. The stepmother and sisters really never got to see what came out of Ash, and her life, it really just left us there, not really on a cliff-hanger at all. Why couldn't she really have a happy life? I mean, in the end, I guess she thought that she made the right choice, but she never seemed the type, if you read it, you'll know what I mean.

  I thought that Prince Aidan would have more with this novel, the Prince was in the original Grimm Cinderella anyway. The fairies really had no point, if the author took them out and just sticked to fairytales in general, I think that we'd have a more understanding within.

  Ash was a female lead that I disliked. She was boring, and did everything her "mother" said. I would have rather been kicked out, and would go live with that Marie woman or whatever. Why didn't the author think outside the box?

  It's a three star rating because I liked the ending, even though I would've put it in a different way anyways. Also, because I liked the background characters, including Clara, Ash's stepsister.

   Not bad, but not the best.

Beach Lane, by Melissa de La Cruz

Title: Beach Lane (formerly published as The Au Pairs)


Author: Melissa de La Cruz


Rating: 4.5/5 stars


Release Date: May 7, 2013


Publisher: Simon & Schuster


Format: Paperback Edition


Goodreads Average Rating: 3.66




Why Did I Choose It?

I chose to read this novel because of all of the good things said about it, and because of the cover. (hehe)

Quote: 

“Now that she decided she knew exactly what she wanted –him- she couldn’t wait to break the news. And if he didn’t want her, she could live with that – what she wouldn’t be able to live with was if she never told him.”

My Review:


  The Au Pairs, The Au Pairs, I've heard about this series everywhere, how it's the perfect summer beach read, and how superb it was. When I went to the store, I saw the second novel, Skinny-Dipping, and I loved the cover. Who'd think that it was part of this series?

  When I realized that it was republished and transformed into the Beach Lane series, I was really happy, the series now has a beautiful modern look.

    Now that I've read it, this is one of my favourite summer series that I've read this year.  I adored it, and can't wait for the rest!

   I loved how this was a three-point perspective story. Mara, Eliza, and Jacqui were all fantastic, most off the time. In the beginning, I really disliked Eliza and Jacqui. They seemed bratty, and acted like all they cared about was partying and boys. Over the summer, they really grew up, and learnt about true responsibility. Later on in the story, I learnt to like them, and they were girls that I'd really want to be friends with.

  Mara's always been my favourite. She is kind of like me, independent and selfless, and I could relate to her. I'm happy with what ended up with her by the end of the novel.

  Where the story started and ended was astonishing. Taking place in the Hamptons was a perfect setting, the manison where the Perrys lived in was somewhere I'd love to live in, and I wish that I was an Au Pair by the end of this novel, they taught us that we have to be responsible, but can have some fun once in a while.

  Have you ever wondered what an Au Pair really is? According to dictionary.com, an au-pair is a young foreign person, typically a woman, who helps with housework or child care in exchange for room and board.

  Loved, loved, loved this!

 

Fracture, by Megan Miranda

Title: Fracture

Author: Megan Miranda

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Release Date: January 29, 2013

Publisher: Walker Childrens

Format: Paperback Edition

Goodreads Average Rating: 3.74

Age Group: 12+

Would I Recommend: Yes!

   When I saw this novel in the store, and read its summary, I wanted to read it instantly, it sounded super good, and everyone, it really was. 

   In the world of Fracture, we have Delaney Maxwell, who was supposed to die, no, seriously. When she almost drowned in a lake when she fell through the ice on a winter day. Yep. Her best friend, Decker, saved her, giving her CPR but then ended up breaking her ribs. Everyone says that she has an unfixable brain injury, and that's causing problems for everyone. The people are accusing Delaney of killing an old woman down the street, and that's just the beginning. When she meets Troy Varga, her whole world changes, and she might figure out the truth...

   Something was missing, but other than that, I loved, loved, LOVED, this book! The events were incredible, you could tell the author put her heart and mind into writing this novel. If you read the Author's Note, you will find that the influence toward this is awesome.

  Delaney wasn't the best heroine, but she was likeable. I wished that she was more happier in person, everything would've been brighter and better, in general.

   I found that there was a love triangle, somewhere in the novel, even though I didn't like any of the guys. They just seemed dull, in my opinion.

   Overall, I'm telling you, I just can't wait for the sequel! Can it come out any sooner?

Dreamland, by Sarah Dessen

Title: Dreamland

Author: Sarah Dessen

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Release Date: May 11, 2004

Publisher: Speak

Format: Paperback Edition

Goodreads Average Rating: 3.88

Age Group: 12-13+

Would I Recommend: Maybe, for those who want to read something relatable.

   Surprisingly, Dreamland was the worst Sarah Dessen novel that I've read so far.

  Here, we have Caitlin who really has enough going on in her life, especially since her sister's gone missing. She tries to find her in the world they've created, Dreamland, but that's all that holds the truth. When Caitlin meets Rogerson, her whole life changes. He might be a risk, but he's the only key that helps her dreamland become real. When something uncomfortable happens, Caitlin must choose between dreamland and what's right.

   Wow, I had huge expectations for this. I'll admit, I really was captivated for the first 50 pages or so, but after, BOOM. That's it. Although I finished this in a day, I felt like I was reading it for a century. Tossing and turning the pages around, I never realized the point here.

  Although the plot wasn't the best, I really liked the characters. Caitlin, although she was depressed and going through a hard time, she really was a fantastic lead, she taught us that we have to stay strong and find our own dreamland, but we have to make sure it's a good one.

  I can't even speak about Rogerson, if you read this novel, then you'll understand.

  Overall, it really could've done better.