Lovesick by Jacqueline Levering Sullivan - Reshelved Books

Hi all, 

Anyone who's looking for a sweet book to read, raise your hand! Today I bring you a quick review! It's beautiful here in NJ, which is a nice change from the winter like weather we were having for quite some time! (I'm happy to see that the weather got the memo of it being the end of April :P )

This book was sent to us for as a requested review.  It was sent to us for an honest review. 

Here it goes...!.

Lovesick by Jacqueline Levering Sullivan tells the story of 16 year old Jeanmarie Dowd in 1952. Jeanmarie is in the crossroads between being a good best friend to Terry and a good friend to Chuck Neary (who just so happens to be Terry's boyfriend!). 

What did I like about this book, might you ask? Well. I liked how it took place in 1952.  I liked how Sullivan was able to lend certain terminology and characteristics to bring the reader into that year. 


The book just didn't focus on Jeanmarie and Chuck though.  There was also a focus on Jeanmarie's relationship with her sister, Iris. I liked how Sullivan was able to tackle a few different topics: the relationship between Jeanmarie/Chuck, Jeanmarie/Terry and Terry/Chuck.  

I felt like the relationships between Jeanmarie, her family, her friends and Chuck were all very real and very relatable. 

By no means was this book a lighthearted read.  There were topics presented that were heavy- Chuck's illness, Iris's potential involvement with Russia during a time of uncertainty and most notably, Jeanmarie's feelings toward Chuck. A varying degree of emotions were presented in the book. 

I really did like the story, I liked how it was a shorter read but something that was able to hold my interest. It was a book that I was able to finish in one time. 

If you're able to get your hands on this book, I would definitely recommend it! 

I give this book 4.5 coffee beans out of five! 

~ Jillian

Emergency Contact by Mary H. K. Choi - Reshevled Books

Hello Dewey Readers!

Have you ever accidentally fell into a textual relationship... or friendship?  You know, where you just text someone and never hang out?  Where the very essence of your friendship lies between the words inside your phone?  Well, that what happened to Penny Lee, when she awkwardly ran into Sam while he was having a panic attack.  They exchange numbers and become each other's "emergency contact." 

And such is the basis for Mary H. K. Choi's debut novel Emergency Contact, which has been noted for being perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Rainbow Rowell.  AND having read all three, I can assure you that it is! 

So a bit more about this novel.  Penny's high school life was pretty much non-eventful.  She had a boyfriend that she liked but wasn't passionate about, she had okay friends, and pretty good grades, but nothing really stood out.  Her single mother always tried to be the "cool" mom, and more of a friend figure rather than a parental one.  Now Penny is off to college in Austin, Texas, and she's EXCITED.  1) because she no longer feels like she has to watch over her mother and 2) because now she can pursue her dream and actually start to cultivate her life.        

Meanwhile.... Sam, also in college for film, is poor.  He literally only has $17 dollars in his bank account, and he's working in a cafe.  Sam is a pancake man, and he sleeps on a mattress above the cafe.  He's trying to get over his ex-girlfriend.  In fact, he's been clean of all communication with her, that is until she shows up one day to tell him that she's been a few weeks late.......     

I adored the premise of this book, but it took me a while to get trough it.  Was my reading slump causing me to lose my attention span? I'm not sure, but I DO think that I'm going to add it to my I Read Y.A. Book Club list.  So Dewey readers, I leave you with a rating of 4 out of 5 Coffee Beans.... or pancakes.... whichever you prefer.  

P.S.  Sam didnt't really specifically make pancakes in the novel (he was a pie and donut guy),but I think imagining pancakes only makes the novel better.  

Until the next read!

~Jessica 

The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn - Battle of the Book

Hello everybody.

April's battle of the book is here!!

This month we're gonna be talking about The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn.

I'm hoping that this month, you guys will find this battle a little more interesting than last month's.

Jess's review can be found here.

I'm going to jump to my feelings on this book. 

(But for those who haven't read Jess's review yet; the book is about a woman who has PTSD induced acrophobia. Anna can't leave her house- so she watches her neighbors out of her window. With her Nikon camera. While she's drunk and high on her meds... Yeah.)

I give this book a 3.5 coffee beans out of 5.  (If you check out my account on Goodreads- you'll see I gave it a 4 because there are no halves there!)

Why?

I didn't like the story. 

I thought that it was VERY slow to start.  There were moments when my heart hurt for Anna. I found the story of what happened to be sad and I did hurt for her.  

But the rest of the book...? I didn't like it.  I didn't find it to psychological or to be a thriller.  It was just there.     

I was frustrated by Anna. A lot.  

I know that in order to accept help and move forward, you need to admit to yourself that you have a problem and want to make those changes.  I understand that her past was very big to her and that she wasn't able to move forward right away.  But her character did grow and I was proud of that.  Even if it was basically at the end of the story. 

I felt like the book did wrap up at the end though and that there weren't any loose ends.  

I was surprised by the character who committed the murder.  I wasn't expecting that to happen! 

The way that the murderer had approached Anna and, for lack a better word, "played" her - really WAS creepy! 


I will admit that the book was a page turner for me.  For most of the book, I kept turning the page for more.  It was just that that "more" wasn't really there. 

But it was such a short time frame for the psychological thriller part of the book.  It wasn't very satisfying, if you will.  There was such a slow and prolonged buildup to that WOAH moment in the story- that I felt like it fell short. 

If you're looking for a real thriller, I would recommend The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda.  I thought that was creepier and more twisted. 


~ Jillian

The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn - Battle of the Book

Hello Dewey Readers!

As we've mentioned before, Jillian and I are in a book club called The Spine Breakers.  We break spines...book spines.  Our second book club selection was The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn.  We were both disappointed with last month's selection, The Lying Game by Ruth Ware, and Jillian didn't seem like she was in love with this novel either (she read it before I did) so I wasn't sure what to expect.  (You'll have to read her review to see her thoughts.)  So, I went into this novel half thinking that I wasn't going to enjoy it and that it would be draggy.  However, I was pleasantly surprised.  

This novel is a psychological thriller about a woman named Anna who has agoraphobia caused by the result of a traumatic experience.  What was this traumatic experience?  We're not quite sure, but we do know that she won't leave her house...she can't leave her house.  However, just because Anna can't leave her house does not mean that she doesn't know what's going on in her neighborhood.  She sees into other people's homes from the safety of her front window.   

Now, Anna is heavily medicated with anti-anxiety medications that should not be mixed with alcohol, that being said, Anna is also an alcoholic. So one day when Anna claims that she saw her neighbor get stabbed, not only dos the reader begin to wonder if Anna is hallucinating, but the characters and even Anna herself do as well.  

Now without giving too much away...
What I liked about this novel:  
-It was fast paced with REALLY short chapters which made me read faster
-Anna's mind was... interesting 

What I didn't like: 
- The ending of the novel seemed too...theatric and even borderline cliche... I wanted something else.  

In comparison to last month's read, where I walked around wondering "wtf did I just read?"  to the point where I didn't even remember it, this novel kept me interested and wanting to find out more.  I read this book in about two days, and for that fact alone, I am going to give it 4 out of 5 Coffee Beans. 

~Jessica