Tag Archives: Young Adult

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Forget You by Jennifer Echols

I’m a little torn on this book. While it was a wonderful and touching story, there were things that got in the way of my complete enjoyment of it.

I found it a little hard to relate to and understand Zoey. Some things she does, I could look past, because she had just gone through something no person should ever go though, but there were other things I did not understand. I wanted her to refuse to follow her father’s orders. I wanted her to say no to him and do what she wanted to do. And always referring to Brandon as her boyfriend, even though she knows his personality and not seeing him behaving any differently with her than he does any of the other girls he sleeps with once and dumps.

However, Echols wrote a emotionally charged book, while still being able to be witty and true to life. Even though I had some trouble with Zoey, and that might be just how Echols wanted to write her, I did like most of how she wrote the character. She was just the right mix of sweet and smart, with a little bit of confused mix in. I loved the moments she shared with Doug the most. They were touching and felt real.

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The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

This was a heartbreaking story about coming to terms with tragedy and how people cope with the death of a loved one.

You can really feel Lennie’s confusion, and that is only complicated by the two boys that seemingly enter her life just then.

Toby is one of the only people that know what she is going through, as he was Bailey’s (her sister) boyfriend. He knows what Lennie has lost, and they can find comfort in one another. There’s something about sharing their grief that draws them to each other, even if others might not understand that relationship.

And then there’s Joe. He comes into her life at just about the same time and adds even more confusion to her life. He just throws himself into her world, sometimes uninvited. He makes her think and start living outside the shadow of her sister. He sees her as her own person, unrelated to being Bailey’s sister.

She makes mistakes that hurt people, including herself as the book goes on, but in the end, she comes into her own as Lennie. She realizes that it’s okay to keep living and being content and happy, even if those around you can’t. It’s okay to move on and live, even when other people can’t.

It was real and touching, and deserving to be read.

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Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

I have mixed feelings on this book. I felt the ending fit, and although I found myself hoping it wouldn’t end the way it did, I can understand why it happened that way.

When I started reading I found it hard to believe that Sam could be redeemed. Her character just seemed too lost in herself to actually learn anything from what happens to her. In fact, she even gets worse at one point. But somehow, Oliver was able to write the change in Sam so well, it fit and didn’t seem forced at all. I had completely changed how I felt about Sam, and was deeply touched by the ending.

I was also impressed that Oliver wrote the ending the book deserved and needed, instead of the one people would have wanted. I will gladly read anything else Oliver writes, if she continues to write the story she wants to tell, and not the stories other want her to write.

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If I Stay by Gayle Forman

This book really moved me. It’s all about Mia’s decision to stay on Earth, or pass on into whatever the afterlife is with her family. It’s extremely moving and compelling.

It starts by showing Mia and her family just being a family. They are happy and things are going well for them. They go on a drive, and during that drive, they crash. Mia suddenly is viewing herself as a separate entity. She learns of her brother’s death, and knows she is the only surviving member of her family.

She watches as the people that love her try and convince her to stay, all the while she leans towards going with her family. After all, there isn’t much left for her on Earth now. Ultimately, her boyfriend’s plea, that he wants her to stay, even if it means he never sees her again, that makes her chose to live.

It was a book the moved me to tears, and stayed with me for days after I finished. It is definitely a must read.

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Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Anna was a refreshing book to read; it was sweet, not too complicated, but still enough that I couldn’t put it down (figuratively).

When I started reading, I was a little worried it was going to be one of the cliché filled high school/teen books, and while on one level it was, it was written in such a way that I didn’t even notice. I was completely entranced by Anna’s story and kept up my hopes that she’d get St. Clair, only for those hopes to be dashed, yet build again.

It was a quick read, but a very good one. I’m looking forward to reading Perkins’ next book when it comes out.

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Matched by Ally Condie

When I started Matched, I wasn’t sure I would enjoy reading yet another love-triangle centered book, but I still decided to give it a try. I’m very glad I did. While there is a love triangle, it is not focused on, rather, it only adds to the confusion Cassia feels regarding how her world is run. She decides almost nothing, and for many years, she never questioned that. In Matched, a few things shake her and make her start to really think about if her life is really her own.

Both guys in the book are wonderful. One is her best friend and supposed match, and the other is someone she’s seen, but never really noticed. Her best friend is safe, and she knows she’d be happy if she followed society’s rules, but once she realizes what else is out there, through Ky, she wants more.

The ending was enough to hold me over until the next book, and I can’t wait until it’s released and I have it in my hands.