The Mall by Megan McCafferty- Book Tour

Hey hi everyone!

I hope everyone's summer has been going really well even though we're still under quarantine and as we're learning how to navigate it... 

Several months ago, we were asked by the wonderful people at Wednesday Books if we wanted to review The Mall by Megan McCafferty.  I haven't read anything by Megan McCafferty before but I have wanted to read her Jessica Darling series. So maybe let's say that that counts for something? 

You're not here to read about me rambling about that series, you are here to read about The Mall!

The Mall was released last week on July 22nd, which means that if you find yourself interested in reading this book you are able to snag yourself a copy by clicking here.

The Mall takes us to 1991 to a mall in South Jersey! But it's probably technically Central Jersey.  Cassie Worthy had finished up her senior year of high school.  She's going to be going to college in NYC in the fall.  She has her first job lined up at the Parkway City Mall at American's Best Cookie with her boyfriend, Troy.  Cassie is going to be living up her last summer before college. 

That is... until she gets mono and her summer gets turned upside down. 

She can't work with Troy anymore. Heck, she can't even be seen near America's Best Cookie and she certainly can't tell her parents what happened.  

Over the very short course of the summer of 1991, we get to see how Cassie navigates her newly single summer, while she makes an unexpected friend in Drea along the way. 

McCafferty writes the story in such a way that leaves you as the reader, laughing out loud at the antics that happen between Cassie and everyone that she encounters.  You can feel her frustrations with her situation, the heartache and wishes she has towards her parents and everything in between.  

I had no problem finishing this book in one day. It was so worth the read!  Definitely 5 coffee beans out of 5. I hope that you all like it to (: 

Let me know what you think by rather commenting down below OR following me and tweeting me on Twitter @blondewithabook !

See you guys soon with many more reviews now that classes are done for the next 6 weeks!

- Jillian

Always Never Yours by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka - Reshelved Books

Before we need this year I'm going to squeeze in one last review!

Using the cover of the book provided by Amazon!!

Then I would like to pose a question to everyone: 
Do y'all like it better when YA book reviews are posted to the blog? Or do y'all like it better when we post adult fiction/non-fiction book reviews to the blog? 

I think that the answer to this question is YA book reviews but I'm not entirely sure...
I'm also not asking for the sake of this review, which happens to be YA, but out of curiosity.

Today's review will be on Always Never Yours by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka! 

I stumbled upon this book by chance in Barnes and Noble a couple weeks ago.  You know how it goes, you find a book on the shelf and you find the cover art to be pretty.  So you go and buy it and the result is that you're either happy with what you've purchased or you find it be just okay.

The story focuses on main character, Megan Harper, her trails and tribulations in being the lead in her school's production of Romeo and Juliet and figuring out whether she's "more Juliet or more of a Rosaline".

I'm gonna cut to the chase here: I found the book to be boring.  It was about Megan having to practice her acting, finding out that her father and her step mom plan on moving to another state, and her blossoming friendship with Owen. 

The book didn't pick up until the last 1/2.  When Megan found out her ex-boyfriend cheated on her with her best friend.  When her mother tells her that she's going to be staying for the birth of her new half sister.  Megan and Will also start to date. 

My overall feelings on this book? It's okay.  It's nothing to write home about.  I found it weird that Buzzfeed declared that the main character was "empowered"! But the girl is 17!! How could she possibly be empowering??  

I was talking to a girl that I work with and she said that sometimes YA authors write books seemingly forgetting that their target audience is teens and that these characters act very mature.  Some of the behaviors that Megan acted on, were too strong and some of the ways that she said things were also too strong.  (I thought that this behavior in an adult would be more "empowering" than it was in a 17 year old).

My final thoughts? 

Sad to say that this book wasn't worth it for me.  I didn't find the story to be all that great.  I feel a little unclear on what actually Megan was trying to learn or accomplish.  Yes, I get that having her be an actor in the play was to help her character "grow" but I didn't find there to be much character growth.  Yes, she had a fight with her best friend and she learned that she was lied to.  Yes, she got her chance with Will, where she saw that he went to spend time with Alyssa and not go to the Senior Showcase like he said he would. (I would like to point out that this doesn't work with the hypothesis that Megan is the girl all guys date before they find their girlfriends.  I don't think anyone would reason having a girlfriend in someone like this Alyssa character).

I give Always Never Yours 3 coffee beans out of 5. 

- Jillian

10 Blind Dates by Ashely Elston- Reshelved Books

To quote The Bubble Guppies "What time is it?" It's time for a new review!

For some reason that is a little lost on me, holiday themed books come out in October... The library has been getting these holiday books this month and when I went to Barnes and Noble a few weeks ago, I was seeing them as new releases. 

Link to cover

10 Blind Dates is a fun and quirky YA book that is centered around the holidays!  The title wouldn't make you think about that but the cover art definitely does (once you notice the little ball of mistletoe).   This book also came out this month.  

Elston definitely was channeling quirkiness when she wrote this book.  Sophie is 17 years old, she's a high school senior, she's able to become an aunt!  She also is about to spend the next 2 weeks of her holiday break with her family three hours away.   Keep in mind, that this is family that Sophie feels she's grown away from in recent years.  As a result, Sophie decided that she wasn't going to stay with her family for as long.  She decided that she was going to stay home and then this way, she would be ale to spend time with Griffin, her boyfriend.

The night that her parents leave, is the night that Sophie decided she's going to tell Griffin the good news.  Sophie goes to a party to see and talk to Griffin when she overhears that Griffin doesn't find her to be fun anymore and that maybe, they should go on a break. 

WELL. 

Sophie gets upset and leaves the party.  Totally understandable! 

Now, this is where the quirkiness comes in.  After arriving at her grandparents house and telling Nonna what had happened and then sleeping on it for a night, Sophie wakes up to a surprise.  Nonna is going to set Sophie up on 2 weeks worth of dates!  Which would be a date every day that Sophie was there.  Different family members would set Sophie up a different dates with different boys. 

Think of it as speed dating. 

The idea is that all of these dates are going to help Sophie get over Griffin.

Will they work? Well.  You're just going to have to see for yourself! 

I'm going to give this book 4 coffee beans out of 5. 

~ Jillian

The Seven Torments of Amy and Craig b Don Zolidis -- Reshelved Books

Hi there Dewey Readers!

Are you looking for a cute and quick y.a. read?  Look no further than The Seven Torments of Amy and Craig by Don Zolidis.  Okay, maybe cute isn't exactly the right word.  The book opens by stating that the ending is not happy, and true to it's word it isn't, but it is something that we can all relate to.

The book takes place in the mid 90s and follows the not-so love story of an on again off again couple, Amy and Craig.  Amy keeps breaking up with Craig for reasons we don't quite understand (Craig doesn't either), and yet they still keep getting back together.  It's about what it means to be a family, what it means to fall in love, and the choices we make.  It's about wanting more than your parents have and struggling (financially) to make a better life for yourself even when it looks like it might not be in the cards.  

It's a super quick and easy read.  You won't regret picking it up (hopefully from your local library).  I leave you with a rating of 5 out of 5 Coffee Beans.

Until the next read!
~Jessica 

"Writing Realistic Teen Romances" by Haleigh Wenger- Guest Blogger

Writing Realistic Teen Romances

One criticism I hear a lot when referring to teenage romance novels is that it’s not realistic for love interests to always end up together and have a happily ever after. 

Here’s what I think: It’s absolutely realistic. Because when you’re a teenager, and when you’re in love in general, it feels like forever. I can so clearly remember being sixteen and in love, writing in my Live Journal about my intense feelings while waiting around for someone special’s name to pop up on my AIM. Even as a happily married adult, I still get butterflies thinking about those first crushes and how life changing they were.

Let’s give teenagers more credit. I think they understand that not all sixteen-year-olds have a happily ever after, the end, that’s it. But we should trust them enough to know for themselves what they’re feeling and how serious those feelings are. Teens should see healthy romantic relationships in the books they read. For some of them, it might be the only place they see that a happy ending is possible. 

In April a hashtag started by the #Novel19s made the rounds on Twitter. Young Adult writers shared pictures of their prom, with and without their dates under the tag #YAGoesToProm. What was interesting was the amount of people that are currently married to their prom date. But, even if teen love doesn’t turn out to be forever love, it’s still okay to write it like it could be. When we do this, we’re validating teenager reader’s relationships and telling them that, yes, your romantic feelings are real and big and important. We’re preparing them for future relationships that will last, and showing them positive relationship role models. 

If you are a reader of Young Adult fiction who supports happy endings, check out THE ART OF FALLING IN LOVE, out August 13 from Literary Crush Publishing.

- Haleigh Wenger, author of The Art of Falling in Love

The Art of Falling in Love by Haleigh Wenger - Book Tour

Hi guys, 

I'm excited to tell you about The Art of Falling in Love by Haleigh Wenger.  Haleigh reach out to us and asked us if we would in interested in reviewing her debut novel The Art of Falling in Love, which will be released on August 13th by Literary Crush Publishing.

We asked to participate in the book tour for this release and we couldn't have been more excited!  Part of the book tour involves a guest blog post that Haleigh wrote!  You'll be able to find that here.  As always, we were asked to read this book for an honest review. 


First things first, the cover of this book is adorable!  You will note that there is a sandcastle on the front of the cover.  The sandcastle is somewhat the main focus of the book. 

Claire is spending her summer in Florida like she does every year. Except is year is different because her Opa has passed away. Upon finding a filled registration form that he completed, for her to participate in a sand building contest. 
Claire is an artist, yes but she does her art in the form of sketching.  Sand is a new medium for her and it's taking her through uncharted territory. 

Soon after finding out about the contest, Claire meets Foster.  Claire doesn't know this right away but her and Foster are more alike than just sharing their love for art.  They know what it's like to lose someone who's close to them.  Foster lost his mother a couple years before.  While 
With the help of her new friend, Foster, Claire is determined to fulfill her Opa's wishes. When Foster's past and his present come to light, Claire learns that it's going to alter not only her present but their future.  

Foster is homeless. He’s hiding from his older brother, Johnny and from CPS. Foster and Johnny have a complicated and virile relationship; one that drives Foster to stay away. (Who could blame him??)

Filled with many up and downs, the reader gets to see Claire learn to live this summer without her Opa. We also get to see the now challenging relationship Claire has with her sister, Livvy. Livvy is a few years younger than Claire but up until this summer, they had always gotten along. 

That being said, Haleigh wrote a book dealt with realistic topics. Everyone at one time or another had lost someone close to them and had to navigate grieving.  Anyone with who's close to someone, has siblings, etc; knows what it’s like to hit a rough patch and feel distant from them and like something has changed.  Even homelessness is something that's ever present in today's society; individuals and families are struggling everyday.  Even the topic of falling in love.  Sometimes that becomes all consuming and the emotions that the reader saw Haleigh have toward Foster were relatable. 

The way that The Art of Falling in Love ended, at least to me, felt like it too was realistic.  Not every relationship is meant to last.  Sometimes they hurt but you come out stronger in the end and you end up finding yourself. 

The Art of Falling in Love gives you major feels and for that, I happily give this book 4 coffee beans out of 5.  Why, you may ask?  Well.  I actually didn't like Claire's character! (I saw some of myself in Claire with how she felt toward Foster and I think that's what got to me.  Mind you, this is me knowing what I know now at 29 and not what I knew at 18).

~ Jillian

July Book Haul

Hello everybody!!

August is here! Do you know what that means? It means new books to review for a new month! 

I went on to title this post: “July Book Haul” because these are the books I got this month to read and post reviews for for August. (Bear with me, I’m new at this whole haul thing). 

All of these books are YA. One of them is juvenile fiction- I am trying a new idea here (more on that later). One of these books were sent to us for reviewing; the others I either bought myself or I borrowed from the library (summer reading is still here!)

Ready? Let’s get started! 

Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett (YA) 
I’m not gonna lie, the cover art on this book totally pulled me in. I wanted to get Bennett’s newest book but it wasn’t available in paperback. I settled for this one. The premise of the story sounds super cute. 
It’s the start of summer vacation for Zorie, she’s working a few shifts at her parents’ acupuncture clinic; which happens to be right next door to an adult shop. Which happens to be opened by her neighbors. Who happen to the moms to her former best friend, Lennon. Who, Zorie HAPPENED to casually date briefly. 

Much to Zorie's dismay, her mother encourages and arranges for Zorie to go on a camping trip with friends.  Unknown to Zorie, Lennon is also going to be on this trip.  How do these two feuding friends handle their camping trip?  After a fight with Reagan, Zorie and Lennon are left to fend for themselves for a week in the woods.  How will they cope? 

The Art of Falling in Love by Haleigh Wenger (YA) *Review Request* 
Haleigh reaches out to us to review her debut release! Claire is spending her summer in Florida like she does every year. This is Year is different because her Opa has passed away. Afer finding a filled-out registration form that he completed, for her to participate in a sand building contest, Claire is forced to enter uncharted territory.   With the help of her new friend, Foster, Claire is determined to fulfill her Opa's wishes. When Foster's past and his present come to light, Claire learns that it's going to alter not only her present but their future.  Can she learn how to navigate this summer without Opa and how to help Foster without hurting herself in the process?

Maybe This Time by Kasie West (YA)
As we know, I am quite the fan of Kasie West.  I've read several of her books and I've enjoyed them all.  This is her newest release. 
Sophie is from a small town in Alabama, she's working to save money for college.  While working an event with her friend, Micah; Sophie meets Andrew Hart, the son of a famous TV chef.  For the next year, Sophie will be running into a lot of Andrew; much to her dismay. During this year, Andrew and Sophie will have 9 encounters to become friends or even something more.

Serious Moonlight by Jenn Bennett (YA)
Yes, this is the second book that I will be reading by one author in 1 month.  What is going on? Especially considering that I didn't care too much for her debut novel Alex, Approximately.  But I loooooved "Starry Eyes" enough to want to read this one.  I just reading it and I can tell you that I'm already digging it.  Birdie is 18, having been sheltered by her grandparents for the last 8 years; she convinced her grandfather to let her get her first real job.  As a lover of mystery (including Agatha Christie, Midsomer Murders, old episodes of Columbo and Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries); Birdie was excited to get an overnight job working at the front desk of the Cascadia Hotel. Prior to starting her new job, Birdie had an encounter with a mystery magician. There is an element of mystery in this book, not only because Birdie learns of the identity of her mystery man but also because he helps her solve a mystery.

11 Birthdays: A Wish Novel by Wendy Mass (Juvenile Fiction)
Now, this might be a crazy pipe dream that I have but last week, I thought that it would be a cute idea to have a tween section to the blog.  I review enough YA and Jessica reviews enough Adult fiction; that a tween section would make us more well rounded.  I know that this title is a high circulating one within the library where I work.  The synopsis of the book sounds cute enough. At 10, Amanda can't wait to turn 11 but this year, her birthday will be different from past years because she won't be sharing it with her best friend, Leo.  Leo and Amanda aren't talking to each other.  When she goes to bed on her 11th birthday, she wakes up the next day to find out it's her birthday again! Will repeating her birthday, help Amanda fix her friendship with Leo? Well, I won't know until I read this tween book. 

I'll be posting reviews soon!

~ Jillian

After the Game (The Field Party #3) and Losing the Field (The Field Party #4) by Abbi Glines - Reshelved Books

Hi everyone!

I’m sorry that I didn’t get to post this week before today. I’ve been busy with reading some new books (getting ready for some reviews to post before my vacation in a couple of weeks) and studying for the GRE (which I took this week!)

As we all know, because I’ve been pretty vocal about it, I’ve been really enjoying The Field Party series by Abbi Glines. I said it on an IG story last week that I was reading through these books like I don’t know what!

I’m sad to say that I really didn’t care of these last 2 books.  One was underwhelming and the other was totally off the wall! (Feel free to disagree with me on both books). 

Ready to see why? 

After the Game Review: 

After the Game is the 3rd book in The Field Party Series.  This is the book where we learn more about what happened to Riley and if the Lions when this season.

It was briefly mentioned in the second book, that Riley was driven out of Lawton because she was raped by a Lawton.  That Lawton would be Gunner's older brother, Rhett.  For the short interaction the reader saw of Rhett in Under the Lights, we can see that Rhett isn't all that he's cracked up to be... 

As I had done before, MB is such a trooper and he was willing to give 
"Riley is trying to get acclimated back into school with the help of Brady...” and that’s as far as I’m going to put because I don’t think the book is worthy of the MB reviews. I’m sorry. 

I'm a little sad to say this but... I didn't like this book as much as I did the first and second.  I felt that it didn't live up to the others.  It was a little blah. 

After the Game shows the reader the story of Brady and Riley.  Brady is taking a huge risk by befriending Riley (you can read why above).  With us knowing that, there wasn't much conflict from anyone.  West was a little leery but there wasn't a TON of the drama that the reader would have initially assumed. (Why the title? Brady wanted to see Riley "after the game").

A blah review for a blah book. Sad to say, I give this book 3.5 coffee beans out of 5. 

Losing the Field Review:

As we saw with the first 3 books, they took place during Brady, West and Gunner’s senior year. I didn’t know when I was reading those books that Nash, Asa and Ryker weren’t part of that class. These guys, at the time, were juniors. 

 Losing the Field follows Nash, who is now a senior and Tallulah and is the fourth book in the Field Party series. (Why "losing the field"? Nash was upset about his injury caused him to "lose the field").

This. Book. 

UGH! 

As I was reading the book, I was a little worried that I might be one of two people who didn’t like it. But upon reading other reviews at Goodreads, I saw that I wasn’t the only one and that there were other readers out there who had the same opinions I had on this book. 

Where to start....

This book was awful. I hate saying that about a book but oh yuck.  I don’t even think you can say that the story had promise or even that it stood the chance at some point. It was just that awful.  The book starts off with acknowledging a negative experience for Tallulah: Nash “betrayed” her by laughing at her body at the end of their junior year. This motivated her to the point where she walked everyday over the summer and ate better. Nash, on the other hand, was dealt his own blow when he was hurt playing a game of backyard football with his family. He sustained an injury so devastating, that he wouldn’t ever be able to play football ever again.  You know what algebra says, two negatives make a positive, right? 

Well not in the book! 

I felt that there was an amount of animosity in the book that didn’t need to be there.  Tallulah hated Nash. Nash hated everyone. 

Two new characters were introduced, one of them was a teacher who was around our (Jessica and I) age and a famous internet blogger. Both of these characters had a negative influence on Nash and Tallulah. 

Without giving the whole book away, let’s just such say that tragedy strikes yet again to our characters and someone faces some serious legal trouble. 

The book was too much. There was too much going on. If you had one bad character, you didn’t need the other.  The hate that was between Nash and Tallaluh went on for so long in the book that their “relationship” and any feelings that they had for one another didn’t even seem real. 

For obvious reasons, I’m giving the book 2.5 coffee beans out of 5. 

Final thoughts on this series? 

I really enjoyed the first ones. (Reviews can be found here and here for those). I would say that those two are worthy of reading. If you were curious to know what happened with Brady, since he is a pretty big main character given how much interaction he has between the three books, I would suggest that one... if you’re borrowing it from your local library...though you might feel a little let down. I do NOT recommend the fourth one.  I’m torn on whether or not I want to buy the fifth one when it comes out next month or if I want to see if my library consortium acquires a copy that I could borrow (I’ll probably do that). 

See ya all next time! 

- Jillian

Under the Lights (The Field Party #2) by Abbi Glines - Reshelved Books

Hi Guys!

Did you happen to see my quick review about this book on IG?! You should check it out if you haven't all ready.

I wanted to review the 2nd book in The Field Party series- Under the Lights.  I think that I liked the 2nd book more so than I liked the first one. (If you'd like to read that review, click here)

Just like the first book, MB took a stab about what the book was about.  His prediction: "Our lovers from the previous book are continuing their strong bond. This next chapter introduces a few new characters that are through some hardships as well. The new male character, is an underclass man that some issues at home with an alcoholic father. Another character new to the story is a girl that has an issue with PTSD from watching her friends die in a car accident. The four characters have mixed love affair which ends in all four characters alone at the end of this book; hopeful for the next school year."

MB was not wrong with some of these guesses, some of them were not correct either.  If we read between the lines with what he said we can make a solid argument.

In 3, 2, 1...
Unlike the first book, that focused on the two main characters, Under the Lights focuses on THREE main characters and flips between them.  In the first book, we were introduced to Brady and briefly introduced to Gunner.  There was mention of West and Maggie from the first book, but there was little to no interaction; they were just mentioned in passing basically. 

Willa was affected by tragedy but I wouldn't say that it was something that caused PTSD.  I feel that she had more of a guilt that she couldn't stop what had happened and she was terribly upset that it caused the ending that it did.  While, Gunner isn't an underclass man and his father isn't an alcoholic, there was a a lot of resentment that he had toward his father. 

There wasn't a love affair between West, Maggie, Willa, Brady and Gunner BUT there was a small love triangle between Willa, Gunner and Brady.  (Spoiler alert: Willa does kiss both boys)

Based on the cover art and the titles, these two books aren't what they seem.  They're more than that.  They're intense but at the same time, they're easy to read.  I didn't get that book hangover feeling with these.  It's the opposite, I can't wait to read the next 2!  I also am developing a soft spot for Brady (sorry MB: I think I'm quarterback kinda girl).  I'm super excited to read the next book, which will focus on Brady.

Like the first book, there is a reason for the title: Gunner and Willa used to say that one day, Gunner would be under the lights (meaning under the stadium lights, playing football)

Also like in the first book, we met the characters of the next book.  Under the Lights does a better job of introducing Riley and setting the stage for what the audience will be introduced to in the next book.

I can confidently say that this book deserves 5 coffee beans out of 5. 

- Jillian

The Library of Lost Things by Laura Taylor Namey- Reshelved Books

**The Library of Lost Things by Laura Taylor Namey was sent to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

For anyone who has been patiently waiting a new YA book review from me, look no further than this post!

The Library of Lost Things introduces us to Darcy Wells, a 17 year old girl who's been hiding the fact that her mother is a hoarder. With a new building superintendent, the secret that Darcy has worked so hard to hide is threatening to be exposed.  In a few weeks from when the author introduces the reader to Darcy, she will be 18, no longer at worry for CPS to take her away but fueled by the prospect that her home might be taken away from her and her mother. 

I didn't find there was as much focus on Darcy and her mom's relationship. I kinda thought that it could have been more involved? Yes, we knew that there was a shopping addiction and that her mother had other shortcomings but that was kinda it.  (Maybe the lack of her mother's appearance was to show that she was somewhat absent?! Update: I think it was totally intentional!)

Book Cover was copied from Amazon- linked above

Other than that, I felt like everything that Darcy was going through was relatable.  Having a fear of being out in front of an audience on a stage: normal.  Being on that stage and having to have your first kiss at the same time: terribly mortifying and yet a totally relatable feeling.  Having strong feelings for someone who you know can only be your friend and nothing else: also a normal thing. 

Darcy as a character was just bland.  There wasn't anything that made her stand out in my mind. 

My final feelings on this book are the following: it fell a little flat for me.  I found it to be very slow going for a good amount of the book.  It wasn't until the last 3 or 4 chapters that the story picked up from me. 

I would give this book 3 coffee beans out of 5 coffee beans.  

This book will be available for purchase on October 8, 2019.

~ Jillian 

Until Friday Night (The Field Party #1) by Abbi Glines - Reshelved Books

Oh hey guys, guess who's back with another review!

That would be me.  Yes, yes it's true.... I have two book reviews for y'all this week.  I'm trying to get back into the swing of things.  

Fun fact: I was very excited to share this review with MB.  As soon as he saw the title AND the cover art of the book, he gave the following potential diagnosis of the book (truth be told, he was pretty spot on!): 
"Let me guess... It takes place in Texas. It's a love story about a football player and a girl, who's not a cheerleader, she's not popular, she's a band geek and they date. The book will end with the QB breaking up with the girl so he can date a cheerleader".  Did he stereotype based on a title and a cover? Yes, yes he did. I made sure to explain to him that I believed "Until Friday Night" was the title because West and Maggie would at first speak with each other on Friday nights after the games.

Well MB's guess was right about the book taking place in the South; the state that he guessed was close yet so far.  He guessed that it would take place in Texas- the book is actually set in Alabama. 

Until Friday Night (The Field Party #1) by Abbi Glines is well, the first book in the Field Party series.  The book was published several years ago and since then, other books of the series have been released.  

The list of the books in this series are the following:
1. Until Friday Night
2. Under the Lights
3. After the Game
4. Losing the Field
5. Making a Play (coming August 2019)

I would say that this book tackles some heavier stuff - the loss of a parent(s).

Maggie witnessed the murder of her mother by her father.  West is witnessing the slow death of his father from cancer.  Both teenagers are navigating their grief with the help of one another.  Maggie lost her mother two years prior but that doesn't make her challenges any different from West, who is living in the now with his loss.

Through the bond that they share, West and Maggie are both able to heal. Maggie does something that she didn't think was possible.  In fact, no one thought that she would be able to do what she did: talking again.  It was said early on the story, that Maggie hadn't spoken to a soul since she spoke to the police 2 years before about what had happened to her mother at the hands of her father.  Maggie left that if she didn't talk, then she wouldn't have to testify against her father.  Her fear was that once she started to talk, she would have to talk to the police again and stand as a witness to her father's trial.

But West, West changed all of that for Maggie.  He was lost and hurting just like her.  She felt comfortable enough to talk around him, to listen to his concerns and his sadness.

What did I like about this book? 

I liked how it dealt with something real.  Not just that it dealt with losing a parent and grief but it dealt how everyone is different in handling a traumatic experience.  Maggie's traumatic experience caused her to lose her voice.  West was handling the stress before his father's death by drinking and sex. (Which is a heavy for a teenager to deal with pain, in my mind).  West also had a tough time getting and keeping his anger in check; this is was something that more assumed and mentioned then it was shown.

There wasn't too much fluff in this story.  It wasn't like there was a torrid teenage love affair when Maggie and West first kissed.  They didn't get crazy caught up.  They didn't develop this relationship that came in like a hurricane.  Nope, nothing like that happened. Maggie had to step back from West because she didn't want to feel like she was enabling anymore. (To me, that shows maturity.  There are people who are much older who can't find the strength to step back from a toxic relationship (not that I'm saying West and Maggie were toxic!)).

What did I not like about this book? 

West. Haha. He was the classic high school football star (MB said that sounded like West's character was the running back?).  


Spoiler is coming at you in 3....2....1....

MB was right, West and Maggie did break up.  They did end up getting back together though.  That was something that I didn't have a problem with.  Will I read the remaining books in the series? I'm not sure yet... we'll all just have to wait and see!

The ending wasn't something that I would have predicted.  I liked it, I would have liked to know what the note to Maggie from her father would have said but I did like the ending.  When everything is said and done, I would give Until Friday Night 4 coffee beans out of 5. 

- Jillian

The Chaos of Standing Still by Jessica Brody- Reshelved Books

Has anyone ever experienced a "book hangover"? No? If so, you're lucky!

For some reason, Where the Crawdads Sing gave me a serious book hangover.  The book that I picked up to read after it was not The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (sorry, MB >_<) but rather The Chaos of Standing Still by Jessica Brody.  

I picked up this book a couple weeks ago at Barnes and Noble.  It was on an end cap and the cover was really pretty! I read the back of the book and figured that I'd give it a try.  As I'm sure that some of you have noticed, I haven't been reading a lot of YA lately.  I haven't found anything that I've been excited to read (but that will all change with my next review!) 

For some reason plants make me think of airports

Was this the best book to read after a book hangover? Meh, that remains to be seen but I couldn't think of any other way to start off this review....

The Chaos of Standing Still introduces the reader to Ryn Gilbert, an 18 year old who spent the last 11 months and 31 days on learning how to navigate through her life without her best friend, Lottie.  Ryn is on her way home from Atlanta, but due to a blizzard and a lay over at the Denver Airport- Ryn won't be able to make it home for the 1 year anniversary of Lottie's death. 

The story flashes back between the present, with Ryn being in the airport during the snow and in the past through a series of flashbacks.  

With each flashback, the reader learns more about Lottie and Ryn's relationship with her.  Lottie was this intense force field that was constantly moving around Ryn; she seemed to influence everything that Ryn did.  Without Lottie, Ryn's life completely fell apart.   I'm not a psychologist and I'm not going to try and diagnosis a character but as the reader, you could tell that there was something going on with Ryn.  She seemed to be very withdrawn and at times, you could sense that she was anxious.  Ryn has an obsession with googling questions for answers; regardless of the question, she was always looking for an answer. 

 Ryn trips and falls, causing her to unknowingly switch phones with a guy named Xander.  This accidental swap causes a chain reaction of a series of events that create one very unforgettable night at the Denver Airport for Ryn.  It's a night that causes her to think back to Lottie and to help her move forward. 

The only way you're going to find out about the events from that night is if you read the book.  I'm not going to spoil it for anyone!

I found The Chaos of Standing Still to be super heavy!  The topic that it tackles, for me, was something that I found to be heavy.  Ryan has a massive amount of survivor's guilt toward what happened.  Here is this girl, she lost her best friend and as a result, she lost her ability to live.  That's not something that's easy to digest.  When you learn about their past, to me, it seemed like Ryn really loved Lottie.  I thought that maybe it was more than a friendship type of love.  Feel free to disagree with me but I seemed to me that Ryn was in LOVE with Lottie.  So much so, that her feeling toward Xander kinda surprised me.

As the reader, your heart broke for Ryn :(

I would Brody's book a solid 4 coffee beans out of 5. 

(I actually lent my copy out to a co-worker! I'm looking forward to hear what she has to say about the book.)

-JB

After by Anna Todd (After)- Reshelved Books

Happy Thursday, Deweys!

The weekend is almost *here*!  It's supposedly going to be raining all weekend up here.  You know what that means: more reading! More reading = more reviews in the coming weeks. 

I would like to start off this review by saying that MB is a trooper.  He is very much a trooper.  Not only did he watch Crazy Rich Asians with me two weeks ago (as I babbled for the better part of the movie) but we went to see After this week. 

Image from IMDB

Mind you, MB and me were the only people nearing 30 at the theater.  MB was one of 3 guys in the theater.  To see that I was mortified to what I was about to put him through would be an understatement.  (He'll gladly confirm that I was a nervous wreck for no reason other than that I could be).

Here is MB's review of the movie:

Image from Amazon

"The movie was pretty good. Just the characters were kinda all jerks at first but luckily they all changed at the end. Except for the friends. They were all horrible people". (I changed the previous word used to 'jerks' since this is a family friendly blog after all!) “I would give this 2.75 popcorn kernels. It wasn’t quite a 2 or a 3.”

My review of the movie: (from 4/19/19 - the book is supposedly being delivered today!)

Aside from being mortified throughout the entire movie, it was pretty good! It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  Without having the read the book: I would give it 3.5 kernels out of 5.  I wouldn't watch it again- even after I read the book.  It was okay.  I thought Hardin was kinda creepy...? Tess, she was okay - not my favorite character but eh.  Molly though, oh my.  She was really too much.  She was an obvious antagonist! 

I would like it to be known that I ordered the book before I saw the movie.  Sadly, the book did not get here in time.  So, I got to see the movie first.  I was only going into the movie with this knowledge: It was the most viewed Wattpad story and it's a fan fiction based on Harry Styles.  I knew nothing else about the book and I knew nothing else about the movie.

Now, back in the day (the first year the blog was up and running time frame), I would try to see if I could find articles to quote showing that the author’s inspiration was. I did this both for my curiosity and to help plump up the review. I stopped because life got rather busy. I decided for this review, I was going to try and bring that back! I was definitely interested in knowing more about the inspiration behind this phenomenon. 

From what I found, Todd was a huge fan of One Direction and a fan of the fan fiction that was inspired by the boys of 1D. According to The Atlantic, (you can access the article here), Todd was growing impatient with waiting for these authors to post (That's not the best word but it's what comes to mind).

I know that the story was influenced by Harry Styles (Hardin) BUT did anyone notice that Hardin has a friends: Zed, Nate, Logan, AND a step-brother named Landon?? Was this Todd's way to inserting Zayn, Niall, Liam and Louis?? (OR was Tristan supposed to be representative of Louis because his last name starts with a T like Tristan does?)

I found myself thinking the two following thoughts: 
1. Run, Tessa, RUN from Hardin! He's not stable. I can see the appeal of a bad boy but it's a known fact that bad boys are very very hard to change.
2. Oh my God. Only someone who's in their late teens and early 20s could tolerate this type of relationship.

They had a torrid love affair. In addition to the fighting, there was a ton of gas lighting.  This book is not the example of a relationship that anyone would want to be in.

Maybe this is the mom in me or maybe it's the 29 year old in me but I would have liked to tell Tessa that she needs to walk away.  That for her sanity, it would be best if she removed herself from the situation and walked away.  Someone like Hardin wasn't worth it.  Wasting her time on him wasn't going to be worth it in the long run. 

Not to mention the amount of yelling that was in this book! It was CRAZY! It seemed like Tessa was always yelling at Hardin.  If she wasn't yelling at Hardin, he was being a total jerk toward her.  They were constantly fighting- it wasn't good fighting either.  Their fights would then end in these lust filled encounters- again, another thing that you really don't want to strive for in a relationship. (Did the book really need to be 582 pages?? No. It was horrible redundant at many points)

I will say that the end of the book is like the end of the movie (the evidence and the catalyst would be the only things that were different).  Molly is the same horrible person in the movie that she is in the book. Tessa's jealously toward her was off the charts! 

I would give this book 3.5 coffee beans out of 5.  Which is generous.  If you're over the age of 23-24, I don't think that you're going to enjoy this too much.  It was just too much.  The yelling was too much- Hardin was too much. 

Does this mean that I won't be reading the second book? Absolutely not! I will be ordering the second book from Amazon tonight.  I would like to know what happens. I'm interested in knowing what Zed has to say to Tessa about what happened. 

Stay tunes for more thoughts on the After Series!

~ Jillian