Book Review: Every Day by David Levithan

When deciding what book to review today I realized, I don't read a lot of books by male authors. I started scrolling through my Amazon list (yes I keep a list of all the books I've read over the last few years!) looking for a young adult book written by a male writer that I had read. Well, I didn't have to look too long. I came across Every Day, which I read back in October. It too was a recommendation from EW's Shelf Life. Levithan is a popular author who is well known for writing and co-writing several very loved YA stories. Here's my summary of Every Day:

Meet A. For as long as A can remember, he wakes up each day in the body of someone else. He doesn't know why this happens, who his parents are, or if it will ever stop. He has vague memories of being a young child but doesn't know if he ever had a real, actual body or identity. A has rules in which he lives by as he goes through his strange life. He stays under the radar, doesn't get too attached to people, and doesn't interfere in the body's life. But when A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets his girlfriend Rhiannon, all those rules are thrown out the window. Rhiannon is like no one A has ever met before. A finds himself acting like, well, himself. Not at all like who he is supposed to be, Justin. Rhiannon couldn't be happier. Her jerk of a boyfriend is finally being the guy she fell in love with. Rhiannon and A spend the entire day together like any other happy teenage couple and when night comes A couldn't be more sad. As much as he hopes he can stay in Justin's body, he knows it won't happen. The next day A wakes up a few hours away from Rhiannon and in a new body. He quickly decides he has to find Rhiannon and tell her the truth. It takes a few days and many different bodies but Rhiannon finally agrees to get to know A better. But how can two people ever really be together if one of them wakes up a new person in a different place every day? 

**The concept of this story was one I wasn't sure I would get into. Before the logistics were explained and I got to know our MC, it just seemed strange. Once I really dove in and got used to A and his personality, I loved it! A really made you feel the difficulties of being adrift in life and how much of who we are is tied to having our own body and most importantly, family and friends. A has no one. He is all alone living the lives of other people. He tries to make things better for those people when he can--his own way of leaving his mark on the world. So as difficult as it was to watch him deceive Rhiannon, I understood. Who would believe the truth? I was so glad when A chucked caution to the wind and did just that, told her the truth. And I was even happier when Rhiannon finally accepted A for who he was. I loved how this story asked so many questions about self and identity and most importantly, how we love. Do we love the person we are with or the shell they are in?

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Book Review: Wings, Spells, Illusions, and Destined by Aprilynne Pike

My sister was actually the one who introduced me to this series. She called me up one day not long after the first book was published and said: "Did you know there's such a thing as fairy mythology?" I told her it made sense considering there's werewolf and vampire mythology but I hadn't come across any books about fairies. She told me about Wings and I thought it sounded interesting so I gave it a try. I'm glad I did. Here's a summary of the four:

Wings: Laurel has been home schooled her whole life. She starts public school in the tenth grade when her family moves, leaving behind the beautiful land she has always called home. Laurel has always felt she was different than other kids her age. She knows she was adopted but she loves her parents. She fits in pretty well at her new school and even becomes interested in a boy, David. One day she starts to grow a bump on her back. It gets bigger and bigger until it blooms into a long-petaled flower. She hides it as best she can from everyone around her. Everyone except David. He tests her blood and determines she is not human. She has the same characteristics as a plant. When Laurel goes back to her old home, she meets a strange and handsome boy named Tamani. He's a faerie and he tells her she is too. Then Laurel learns that some evil trolls are trying to take over her family's land so they can control the door to Avalon that's on it. Laurel and her friends, some faerie and some human, begin the fight to save the land. Laurel struggles with balancing her old life with her desire to learn more about her new one. She has to decide where she wants to stay and what boy she wants to be with. And she has to stay alive in the process.

Spells: Laurel is summoned to the Academy of Avalon to begin her studies and learn more about what it means to be a fall faerie. She needs to find a way to stop the trolls from taking over her land and destroying Avalon. She meets many interesting faeries while at the Academy and gets to know Tamani better. Laruel spends a lot of time questioning where she belongs. She doesn't want to give up her human world or her boyfriend but she can't deny her love for Avalon and her growing attraction to Tamani. Eventually she decides who she wants to be with and returns home where the stakes are higher than ever. The trolls are getting more threatening and Laurel isn't the only one in danger anymore.

Illusions: Laurel's been living her life content with her choice and praying the danger to her and her friends is over. Then Tamani enrolls in school with her to keep watch over a new threat--a student named Yuki. He gets close to the new girl to try to figure out what she knows and how much of a danger she is. David and Tamani don't like not being the only boy in Laurel's life. And Laurel doesn't like all the time Tamani is spending with Yuki. In the end the group of friends discover just what they're up against--a threat to faeries and Avalon that none of them ever could have imagined.

Destined: Laurel and her friends now know just how dangerous Yuki is, who exactly she is working for, and what they plan to do. It's a race against time and the stakes are higher than ever as Laurel and the two boys she loves and her best friend Chelsea fight to save Avalon. There's loss and heartbreak in the war that ensues. Laurel makes her final descision between David and Tamani and the fate of Avalon is ultimately decided.

**Since reading the Wings series I have read many fairy books, each unique in their own way. What Aprilynne Pike does so beautifully is create a story about a very relatable girl learning how to navigate two very different worlds. She expertly captures what it feels like to be an in high school and fall in love for the first time. The introduction of Avalon and Pike's take on fairy mythology feels familiar but also fresh. I like how the suspensce of who the bad guys were and what they were going to do kept you turning the pages. The love triangle had me constantly switching teams. David or Tamani? How could a girl choose between such great guys?! I felt the characters were all well-developed and the ending was satisfying. I can't wait to read what this fantastic author writes next!

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Book Review: The Summer I Turned Pretty, It's Not Summer Without You, and We'll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han

When I came across this trilogy at my library they seemed like a great summer read. The awkward girl caught between two brothers—what’s not to love? These books DID NOT disappoint. Here’s a summary of each: 

The Summer I Turned Pretty: Belly loves her time spent in Cousins Beach. Her family goes there every summer to hang out at the water and catch up with another family—her mom’s best friend and her two sons—Conrad and Jeremiah Fisher. Belly is the youngest of everyone and has always been the kid, the tomboy; not the pretty girl who turns boys’ heads. And she's secretively always been in love with Conrad. From one summer to the next, Belly transforms into a beautiful young woman. And the Fisher boys take notice. Belly is over the moon when it seems like Conrad might actually return her feelings. But he gives her mixed signals. So while she deals with his on-again-off-again feelings she grows closer in friendship with Jeremiah. But as it turns out, Jeremiah has a secret of his own.

It’s Not Summer Without You: Belly got a chance with one brother, at least for little while. But it didn’t last. So naturally, the other brother finds a new place in Belly’s heart. While Belly struggles with growing up and falling in love, Conrad and Jeremiah struggle with a medical situation in their family. Each brother handles their feelings over the situation differently—one even takes off leaving everyone to wonder where he is and if he’s alright. Belly tries to be there for both boys but it’s hard being caught in the middle. Ultimately she can’t shake the fact that she loves one of the brothers more than the other. So whose heart will she have to break?

We’ll Always Have Summer: Everything falls apart for Belly and the Fisher brothers when tragedy strikes. It changes everything this summer—the final summer that will be spent at Cousins Beach. No one even comes to the beach house—in fact, everyone seems to be going their separate ways. In the end Belly decides who she wants to be with. So will it be her longtime love, Conrad, or her longtime best friend, Jeremiah?

**Jenny Han expertly captures a season that always feels full of promise and love. Belly’s coming of age story is realistic and relatable and her ability to stand up to four boys her whole life while trying to grow up in front of them is well-written and thoughtful. The setting is described in a way that makes you feel like you are right there in Cousins Beach hanging out at the beach house and being a teenager yourself. Told with flashbacks to previous summers, you really get to know Belly and those she cares about. And you can’t help but fall in love with the Fisher brothers, each great in their own way. Han leaves you guessing who Belly chooses right up to the very end. The Summer trilogy is a nice read for any season about what it’s like to grow up, make tough choices, and keep close those you love.

Book Review: Shiver, Linger, and Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

The Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy wasn’t a set of books I thought I would like when I first picked them up. Before then, I hadn’t read any werewolf stories and I didn’t think it was a mythology I was interested in. It didn’t take but a few pages into the first book before I was hooked. These books are so much more than werewolf books. The characters are richly drawn and the words are beautifully conceived. Here’s a summary of each book: 

Shiver: Grace was almost killed by the wolves in the woods behind her house when she was nine. But a yellow-eyed wolf saved her. Every winter she watches those woods for her silent protector to return. There's something about that wolf that she is drawn too and she needs to know more.

Sam has always watched Grace from afar. In the winter from the woods by her home and in the few precious warm months of summer when he gets to be human and see her around town. 

Suddenly one of Grace’s classmates is killed by a wolf. A hunting party forms to take out the animals. When a familiar yellow-eyed boy shows up shivering and naked on Grace’s porch, Grace knows she has found her wolf. The two slowly get to know each other and fall in love. And while the pack tries to hide and protect itself they also make a startling discovery: some of them aren’t changing back into humans anymore. Grace and her friends race to find a cure for Sam, who would give anything to stay human and be with Grace. So will this be the first and last time the two get to be together? Or will their improvised cure work?

Linger: A new wolf is in town. Cole is a boy who embraces his wolf and shuns his troubled, human past. But why is he here? 

Sam spends his days broodily adjusting to his new life and worrying about Grace, who is suffering from symptoms similar to what happens when the wolves first transform. After all this time, is she finally changing into a wolf? Sam can't help but question why she never changed when she was bitten as a child. What makes her different? 

Isobel is a classmate of Grace’s whose brother didn’t survive the improvised cure they gave him after his wolf bite. She spends her time trying to help Sam and Grace and not fall for Cole. When a local teen goes missing, the hunting party decides it wants blood. But the pack won’t give up so easily. They have a plan for sticking around and taking care of each other. So can a real, permanent cure be found? What’s going to happen to Grace? Will hers and Sam’s love survive when one is a wolf and the other is not?

Forever: Now two local teens have gone missing. The hunting party, headed by Isobel’s father, blames the wolves and is preparing for one final shoot-out to rid Mercy Falls of them forever. 

Cole and Isobel have found happiness in one another and Cole has decided that maybe he doesn’t mind being a human so much after all. He throws himself into finding and perfecting a cure. So will he get it done in time? Or will the hunting party get to the wolves first? Will the missing teens (presumably now wolves) be found? How and where will our four main characters end up?

**Maggie Stiefvater is a brilliant writer. Her writing style for each of her series of books is different from anything else out there. Her settings are vivid and descriptive; atmospheric. In the Wolves trilogy, the romance between Sam and Grace is full of ache and happiness. The introduction of Isobel and Cole’s perspectives provides a much needed counterweight of comic relief and sarcasm to balance out Sam and Grace's introspective personalities. While a lot of people feel Stiefvater left the ending of the trilogy too open ended, I disagree. I felt it was fitting with the wonder and romance set forth in the prior two books. I liked not having all the answers and being able to use my imagination to figure some things out. I highly recommend these books to anyone who likes their stories lyrical and their romances paranormal.

Book Review: Matched, Crossed, and Reached by Ally Condie

I wanted to wait until I finished the final installment before I reviewed these books. Let me just start by saying how much I love this trilogy. It probably ranks up top in my list of favorite books (a list I have yet to compile but when I do, these will be up there). Here's a summary of Matched, Reached, and Crossed:

Cassia lives in the Society. They control everything--what you eat, what you learn in school, and even who you'll marry, your "match." You're only supposed to be shown one match on your computer screen but somehow, Cassia is shown two. Her best friend Xander and another, more mysterious childhood friend, Ky. Cassia is torn. She's always believed in the Society but after the "glitch" of seeing Ky and some mysterious words from her grandfather at his Final Banquet, Cassia isn't so sure of the Society's perfection. And the more time she spends with Ky, the more she learns about herself and what she wants. Then suddenly Ky is taken away by the Officials. Cassia has no choice but to break all the rules and try to find him. But that means leaving everyone behind, including Xander. Cassia is unsure how she feels about Xander. He's the perfect guy and he obviously loves her. He helps Cassia escape hoping she will find what she is looking for and come back and choose him. So Cassia travels across the Society to places she never knew existed, all to find Ky. She learns just how corrupt and secretive the Society really is. She even learns about the Rising--a faction that wants to take the Society down. Cassia's reunion with Ky is heart-aching and brief. The Rising needs their help. They want both Cassia and Ky to infiltrate the Society and help take it down. So who will Cassia choose? What is the Society hiding? Will the Rising succeed? And most importantly: Will they all survive?

Sometimes I wonder if young people read poetry anymore. Then someone like Ally Condie comes along and I realize that poetry isn't limited to rhymes and stanzas and outdated words we don't understand. It can be found in YA literature. The Matched trilogy is poetry done in a whole new way for a whole new generation. The novels are lyrical; a slow dance of words in your head. They flow so naturally and organically that you find yourself having just read 100 pages and not even noticing. There would be times that I would read a line and stop and say: "Wow, that's beautiful." My sister (a junior high teacher) often shows her students passages from Condie's work as illustrations of metaphors done brilliantly. 

Thanks Ally Condie for giving us another reason to enjoy reading!