Sweet Thing (Sweet Thing #1) by Renee Carlino

“You are your mother and your father. You are your experiences and your fears and the love you let yourself feel. You are your degree and your talent and your passion. You are your pain, your joy, and your fantasies.” 

Mia Kelly thinks she has it all figured out. She's an Ivy League graduate, a classically trained pianist, and the beloved daughter of a sensible mother and offbeat father. Yet Mia has been stalling since graduation, torn between putting her business degree to use and exploring music, her true love.

When her father unexpectedly dies, she decides to pick up the threads of his life while she figures out her own. Uprooting herself from Ann Arbor to New York City, Mia takes over her father's cafe, a treasured neighborhood institution that plays host to undiscovered musicians and artists. She's denied herself the thrilling and unpredictable life of a musician, but a chance encounter with Will, a sweet, gorgeous, and charming guitarist, offers her a glimpse of what could be. When Will becomes her friend and then her roommate, she does everything in her power to suppress her passions—for him, for music—but her father's legacy slowly opens her heart to the possibility of something more.

A "heartbreaking and romantic" (Aestas Book Blog) debut, Sweet Thing explores the intensity and complexities of first love and self-discovery. 

This was the best prologue I have read, and I loved how it was woven through the story again at the end.

The writing was really really good. Not only did it have cool band/music references, but the actual writing itself was intelligent and articulate. For a romance novel there was also the right amount of lovin' without being too cheesy, tacky or overpowering.

The only section I didn't really enjoy was watching Mia screw things up (again and again) so badly, and then having to watch her wallow in self-pity for so long. I found that a bit hard to believe because in the real world you can't lie on the couch and drink tequila for months without more consequences - well not in my world anyway. And if it was 'their dream' then why did Will exclude Mia from the planning and keep secrets from her? 

But overall I really enjoyed it. I didn't realise it was a series so I will probably end up reading more to see how it follows on. 

Read my review on Goodreads

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

“Everything's a risk. Not doing anything is a risk. It's up to you.”

...

“Life is a gift. Don't forget to live it.” 

My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.

But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.

Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster. 

What a good girl Madeline must have been to never questioned her disease. I understand that you would probably never think your Mother would be capable of deceiving you on such a massive thing, but she seems like such an intelligent woman that I find it hard to believe that it had honestly never crossed her mind before. And what about her full time nurse? Why did she not pick anything up? Especially after she disclosed she had a hunch that there was something not right?

I was about halfway through when I had my suspicions that this was coming, and I was kind of hoping that it wouldn't. I was kind of hoping that Olly and Maddy would build on their love and overcome the massive health obstacle and that it would work out that way, but it didn't happen like that. 

I read/watch the news, so I know that (particularly in America it seems...) things like this actually do happen to real people, so it didn't make me enjoy the story any less when it panned out this way - it was still really well written and I loved the blossoming love between Olly and Maddy - I was just less surprised.

It had similar stirrings to Room, and The Fault in our Stars, while not being exactly the same as either of those other books. I also really loved how the books referenced throughout the story were real - I've even downloaded a few of them to read!

Read my review on Goodreads

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Charlie is a freshman.

And while he's not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it.

Charlie is attempting to navigate his way through uncharted territory: the world of first dates and mix tapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite. But he can't stay on the sideline forever. Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a deeply affecting coming-of-age story that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up. 

This is a hard one to summarise my feelings about - I enjoyed reading it and found myself engrossed in the characters lives, but I just can't bring myself to say I loved it. 

The characters were quirky and raw, and I loved going along with their messy teenage lives for a few days…BUT I think it was the last chapter that left a bad taste in my mouth - Talking openly about sexual abuse is important, and I know it is a sad reality for some people, but in the case of this story and this character, I didn't really understand why it all had to tie together like that. I felt as though the abuse was used as an excuse or justification as to WHY Charlie was a little different to everyone else. I would have much preferred him to own his idiosyncrasies without needing a reason. 

Other than the ending I felt like it covered a lot of standard teenagers experiences in life - boys, girls, heartbreak, love, the freaks, the cool kids, discovering your sexuality, family, friendship, abuse, experimenting with drugs, and trying to find out who you really are.

Delirium (Delirium #1) by Lauren Oliver

“One of the strangest things about life is that it will chug on, blind and oblivious, even as your private world - your little carved-out sphere - is twisting and morphing, even breaking apart. One day you have parents; the next day you're an orphan. One day you have a place and a path. The next day you're lost in the wilderness.
And still the sun rises and clouds mass and drift and people shop for groceries and toilets flush and blinds go up and down. That's when you realize that most of it - life, the relentless mechanism of existing - isn't about you. It doesn't include you at all. It will thrust onward even after you've jumped the edge. Even after you're dead.” 

Ninety-five days, and then I'll be safe. I wonder whether the procedure will hurt. I want to get it over with. It's hard to be patient. It's hard not to be afraid while I'm still uncured, though so far the deliria hasn't touched me yet. Still, I worry. They say that in the old days, love drove people to madness. The deadliest of all deadly things: It kills you both when you have it and when you don't. 

I loved this story, and was so addicted! It was easy to read and I didn't have to use too much brain power to follow what was happening, but it definitely didn't put me to sleep either. 

I have a feeling that i'll be thinking about it for a while wondering what happens in the second instalment, but I just don't feel committed enough to read it just yet (and I don't read much of this genre generally).

The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin

A stunning debut about how grief can open the world in magical ways.

After her best friend dies in a drowning accident, Suzy is convinced that the true cause of the tragedy was a rare jellyfish sting. Retreating into a silent world of imagination, she crafts a plan to prove her theory--even if it means traveling the globe, alone. Suzy's achingly heartfelt journey explores life, death, the astonishing wonder of the universe...and the potential for love and hope right next door. 

This is one of those books that I was hooked on from the first few pages. It made me look at grief from another perspective, when you just can't handle reality so you fixate on anything to help distract you and try to create another ending.

Behind the intelligent yet slightly dorky musings of the main characters, Suzy, were some pretty important messages for YA about bullying, the pressure you can feel to fit in, the struggles of High School, and on top of that, there were some pretty cool facts about Jellyfish! (I never realised how interesting Jellyfish were - when I came to the end of the book, I actually spent another 30 minutes googling random facts about them! To me that's a sign of a good story, if it makes you keep thinking about it after you've finished.)

A short but bitter-sweet story (I finished reading it in 2 days!) It left me feeling very similar to Incredibly Loud and Extremely Close and The Age of Miracles with their quirky out-of-place teenage angst and nostalgic for something I can't quite put my finger on. 

Wonder by R.J. Palacio, Raquel Jaramillo

“It's like people you see sometimes, and you can't imagine what it would be like to be that person, whether it's somebody in a wheelchair or somebody who can't talk. Only, I know that I'm that person to other people, maybe to every single person in that whole auditorium. To me, though, I'm just me. An ordinary kid.” 

“Here’s what I think: the only reason I’m not ordinary is that no one else sees me that way.” - August

You can't blend in when you were born to stand out.
My name is August. I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse.

August Pullman wants to be an ordinary ten-year-old. He does ordinary things. He eats ice cream. He plays on his Xbox. He feels ordinary - inside.

But Auggie is far from ordinary. Ordinary kids don't make other ordinary kids run away screaming in playgrounds. Ordinary kids don't get stared at wherever they go.

Born with a terrible facial abnormality, Auggie has been home-schooled by his parents his whole life, in an attempt to protect him from the cruelty of the outside world. Now, for the first time, he's being sent to a real school - and he's dreading it. All he wants is to be accepted - but can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, underneath it all?

Narrated by Auggie and the people around him whose lives he touches forever, Wonder is a funny, frank, astonishingly moving debut to read in one sitting, pass on to others, and remember long after the final page.

This was a really touching story. I loved that August was so positive (mostly) and that he had a great personality. I think an important great message in this book is that with the right attitude, you can overcome many obstacles. 

Don't get me wrong, there were parts of this book that really broke my heart (*sniff sniff, the Halloween incident) but by the end of it, I was feeling optimistic with my belief that in general the majority of people are good, still in tact.

This is a book I would recommend every YA should read, and hopefully it will help them feel a bit more empathy and show a bit more kindness for those who are different to themselves. Being a teenager is hard enough as it is, there is so much pressure to be 'cool', and that can often mean that even the nicer kids can be not so nice at times (eg Jack's brother in this particular story). 

A short, but sweet story. I loved it.

Lone Star by Paullina Simons

From the bestselling, acclaimed author of Tully and The Bronze Horseman comes the unforgettable love story between a college-bound young woman and a traveling troubadour on his way to war—a moving, compelling novel of love lost and found set against the stunning backdrop of Eastern Europe.

Chloe is just weeks away from heading off to college and starting a new life far from her home in Maine when she embarks on a great European adventure with her boyfriend and two best friends. Their destination is Barcelona, but first they must detour through the historic cities of Eastern Europe to keep an old family promise.

Here, in this fledgling post-Communist world, Chloe meets a charming American vagabond named Johnny, who carries a guitar, an easy smile—and a lifetime of secrets. From Treblinka to Trieste, from Karnikava to Krakow, from Vilnius to Venice, the unlikely band of friends and lovers traverse the old world on a train trip that becomes a treacherous journey into Europe’s and Johnny’s darkest past—a journey that jeopardizes Chloe’s plans for the future and all she ever thought she wanted.

But the lifelong bonds Chloe and her friends share are about to be put to the ultimate test—and whether or not they reach Barcelona, they can only be certain that their lives will never be the same again.

A sweeping, beautiful tale that mesmerizes and enchants, Lone Star will linger long in the memory once the final page is turned.

Nothing gets to me quite like an unrequited love story! As I am writing this, I am just wiping the last tear away. I wasn't expecting to have this reaction at all when I first started reading it - yes, it seemed like an interesting YA story that involved travel with a few mishaps and twists...and of course someone had to fall passionately, eloquently, head-over-heels in love, in a Paulina Simons story! (just thinking about The Bronze Horseman still gives me goosebumps!!) but I definitely wasn't expecting to feel my heart break along with the lead female characters, and so strongly! 

I've tried, but I can't write about this book without including spoilers…

About halfway through the book I had my suspicious as to how it would generally turn out (although there were still bits I didn't see coming), so I had a feeling that Johnny still had his 'demons'  and that he might probably end up dying before he made it back to Chloe - but how Chloe's grief was written was what made my reaction so strong. It was almost like I was in the car with her, witnessing her pain and confusion. Simons really does have a gift for making you feel something.

At the beginning, it look me a little while to get over how annoying the main characters were - especially their moaning about how their FREE trip to Europe was inconvenienced but a few other destinations. But I guess just because I wouldn't never think that way, doesn't mean other teenagers would I guess? I also think how the story changed voices to read like their individual journals also helped to better understand them and where they were each coming from. And as shallow and one-dimensional as some of the characters were, the others were so intelligent with their deep observations and prophetic quotes, that it balanced it out. There were too many quotes sprinkled throughout the story for me to pick a favourite. 

Apart from making me weep with love and loss, I also felt like I received a bit of a History and Geography lesson as well. If Johnny was a real life tour guide, I would join his group in a heartbeat.