Tag Archives: Young Adult

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before

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Author:  Jenny Han                              boys
Publisher:  Simon & Schuster
Genre: Contemporary Young Adult
Source: Purchased

 

 

 

Goodreads:  To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister’s ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all.

Ope’s Opinion:  This book was such a good read!  I love the relationship between the sisters.  They loved each other, but they also struggled to get along.

Learning who you are, who you like and who you can trust is all part of growing up.  In this book you saw Lara Jean and sisters go through all that without the advantage of having a mother to guide them.

At the end, I wanted more… a sequel, an update, something to show us where all three girls are now.

Rating:  Four Chairs – I like this book so much I know several friends to share it with.
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Lola and the Boy Next Door

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Author:  Stephanie Perkins          lola
Publisher:  Speak
Genre:  Young Adult
Source:  Purchased

 

 

 

Goodreads:  Lola Nolan is a budding costume designer, and for her, the more outrageous, sparkly, and fun the outfit, the better. And everything is pretty perfect in her life (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the negihborhood. When Cricket, a gifted inventor, steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

Ope’s Opinion:  Lola is a quirky character with a lot going on in her life.  It was interesting to watch her relationships grow and change.  Anna and St. Clair are a part of this story.  It was nice to see them again.   I loved Anna and could relate to her.  Lola was hard to relate to.

I would be interested in hearing more about Lindsey and Charlie.  I like that Lindsey put her education before a boyfriend.  I also thought it was great that she wanted to be friends with Charlie, then see what happens. I would prefer Lindsey or Anna as role models to Lola’s example.

Stephanie Perkins knows how to write a story that makes you want to keep reading and reading.  I am looking forward to reading Isla and the Happily Ever After.

Rating:  Four Chairs – I like this book so much I know several friends to share it with.
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Forever…

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Author:  Judy Blume           forever
Publisher: Pan Children’s
Genre:  Young Adult
Source:  Purchased

 

 

 

Goodreads:  Katherine and Michael meet at a New Year’s Eve party. They’re attracted to each other, they grow to love each other. And once they’ve decided their love is forever, they make love.

It’s the beginning of an intense and exclusive relationship, with a future all planned. Until Katherine’s parents insist that she and Michael put their love to the test with a summer apart…

“Forever” is written for an older age group than Judy Blume’s other novels for children. It caused a storm of controversy when it was first published because of its explicit sexual content.

It was a book ahead of its time – and remains, after thirty years in print, a teenage best-seller. America’s No. 1 children’s author has written some of the best books of our time about real-life issues – family stress and pressures, what happens when your parents divorce, the problems of growing up and sexual awakening, bereavement – with insight, sensitivity and honesty.

Ope’s Opinion:  I have very mixed feelings about this book.  First, I am a Judy Blume fan, so I was excited to read this book.  On the other hand, I thought it was going to be a love story and it was mostly about sex.  It was very realistic – maybe more so then I wanted!

I have two grown daughters, I am not sure if I would want them to have read this book in their teen years or not.  It would show them two responsible teens.  It would also show how young love doesn’t usually last.  I would hope it would make a young person really think and make informed decisions.

I have a book shelf for my granddaughter – I don’t think this will be one I will keep for her.

Rating:  Three Chairs – I like this book enough to suggest it to a friend or two.
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The Lonely Hearts Club

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Author:  Brenda Janowitz                  lonely                     
Publisher:  Point
Genre:  Young Adult
Source:  Purchased

 

 

 

Goodreads:   Love is all you need… or is it? Penny’s about to find out in this wonderful debut.

Penny is sick of boys and sick of dating. So she vows: no more. It’s a personal choice. . .and, of course, soon everyone wants to know about it. And a few other girls are inspired. A movement is born: The Lonely Hearts Club (named after the band from Sgt. Pepper). Penny is suddenly known for her nondating ways . . . which is too bad, because there’s this certain boy she can’t help but like. . .

Ope’s Opinion:  This is such a wonderful book for young adults to read.  There is a little bit of boy drama, but the focus is on girl friends.  I really like how the girls in this book put their friends before boys.  

The theme in this book of not changing for other people – friends or boys is awesome! They also discovered what they wanted to do as individuals – not following the crowd. It was such a good example of independent girls supporting each other  – not talking behind each others back.

I enjoyed this book and would recommend it for any young adult.

Rating:  Three ( and a half ) Chairs – I like the book enough to suggest it to a friend or two.

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Don’t Call Me Baby

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Author: Gwendolyn Heasley                    dont call me baby
Publisher:  Harper Teen
Genre: Young Adult
Source:  Little Bird Publicity

 

 

 

Goodreads:  All her life, Imogene has been known as the girl on THAT blog.

Imogene’s mother has been writing an incredibly embarrassing, and incredibly popular, blog about her since before she was born. Hundreds of thousands of perfect strangers knew when Imogene had her first period. Imogene’s crush saw her “before and after” orthodontia photos. But Imogene is fifteen now, and her mother is still blogging about her, in gruesome detail, against her will.

When a mandatory school project compels Imogene to start her own blog, Imogene is reluctant to expose even more of her life online…until she realizes that the project is the opportunity she’s been waiting for to tell the truth about her life under the virtual microscope and to define herself for the first time.

Don’t Call Me Baby is a sharply observed and irrepressibly charming story about mothers and daughters, best friends and first crushes, and the surface-level identities we show the world online and the truth you can see only in real life.

Ope’s Opinion:  This is definitely a younger adult book, but it is really cute.  It is a quick, easy, fun read.

I have a granddaughter, that has been blogged about since we knew she was on her way. Her mother ( my daughter ) The Underestimated Mom has been blogging for along time.  I am wondering how her daughter will feel when she is fifteen.  I will be passing this book on to her.  My daughter/granddaughter’s situation is nothing like the book, but it is interesting to see the next generations reaction to all the blogs out there.

Teen years are hard enough – I can’t imagine being on display for all the world to watch me go through that time in my life.  The mother/daughter relationship isn’t always easy – it was good to see both sides of this issue.

I do like how things ended in the book.  I am interested in reading another book by Gwendolyn Heasley.

Rating:  Three Chairs – I like the book enough to suggest it to a friend or two.
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Riley Mae and the Rock Shocker Trek

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Author:  Jill Osborne              riley
Publisher:  Zonderkidz
Genre:  Young Adult
Source: BookLook

Goodreads: If you’re gonna run for your life, you gotta wear the right shoes. Riley Mae Hart loves sports and action—so when the Swiftriver Shoe Company offers her a contract to be the spokesperson for their new outdoor sport collection, she jumps at the chance. Soon she’s appearing in commercials and magazine ads, and every girl in town wants to wear Riley Mae shoes. Well, except for Riley. Because walking in those shoes means missing out on softball season, making her best friend TJ mad, and embarrassing her new friend, Rusty. It also means sneaking around, hiding, and keeping secrets—because suddenly something isn’t quite right at Swiftriver. But a contract’s a contract, so Riley laces up her ‘Rock Shocker’ hiking boots for a climb up Half-Dome in Yosemite. Will they be the right shoes to get her back on solid ground?

Ope’s Opinion:  If you are looking for an awesome book to share with a young reader or to read to a young person in your life – this book is an awesome choice.  The story is appropriate for a young person, but interesting enough for the adult sharing it.

There is a really good mystery, twist to the story.  The plot will keep your attention from the beginning until the end.

I liked that Riley Mae was into sports, her friends and God.  She was very relatable to any young girl.  She was very aware of other peoples feelings and needs.  An attribute I would love to see passed on to others.

This series will be fun to collect to for a young person in your life.
Rating:  Four Chairs – I like this book so much I know several friends to share it with.
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Where I Belong

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Author:  Gwendolyn Heasley                          where i belong
Publisher:  HarperTeen
Genre:  Young Adult
Source: Little Bird Publicity

 

 

 

 

Goodreads:  Meet Corrinne. She’s living every girl’s dream in New York City—shopping sprees at Barneys, open access to the best clubs and parties, and her own horse at the country club. Her perfect life is perfectly on track. At least it was. . . . When Corrinne’s father is laid off, her world suddenly falls apart. Instead of heading to boarding school, she’s stripped of her credit cards and shipped off to the boonies of Texas to live with her grandparents. On her own in a big public school and forced to take a job shoveling manure, Corrinne is determined to get back to the life she’s supposed to be living. She doesn’t care who she stomps on in the process. But when Corrinne makes an unlikely friend and discovers a total hottie at work, she begins to wonder if her life B.R.—before the recession—was as perfect as it seemed.

Ope’s Opinion:  Corrinne was very whiny in the beginning of this book.  I thought she was very self centered.  Some times it takes a difficult situation to bring out the best in someone.  There are always lessons to be learned in each event in life.

Corrinne’s attitude toward drinking really bothered me.  She acted like most people did it and she was just staring high school.  When Rider said he didn’t drink, she acted like he was weird.  I don’t think I would want a young person to read this and think that it was acceptable.

I did like that the story was mostly about Corrinne and her friendships.  There were boys involved, but that wasn’t the center of the story.  Her family was great, especially her grandpa and her brother.

In the end, this was a good, easy read with lessons learned.

Rating: Three Chairs – I like the book enough to suggest it to a friend or two.
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Crash Into You

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Author: Katie McGarry                                               crash
Publication:  Harlequin Teen
Genre:  Young Adult
Source:  Library

 

 

 

Goodreads:  From acclaimed author Katie McGarry comes an explosive new tale of a good girl with a reckless streak, a street-smart guy with nothing to lose, and a romance forged in the fast lane

The girl with straight As, designer clothes and the perfect life-that’s who people expect Rachel Young to be. So the private-school junior keeps secrets from her wealthy parents and overbearing brothers…and she’s just added two more to the list. One involves racing strangers down dark country roads in her Mustang GT. The other? Seventeen-year-old Isaiah Walker-a guy she has no business even talking to. But when the foster kid with the tattoos and intense gray eyes comes to her rescue, she can’t get him out of her mind.

Isaiah has secrets, too. About where he lives, and how he really feels about Rachel. The last thing he needs is to get tangled up with a rich girl who wants to slum it on the south side for kicks-no matter how angelic she might look.

But when their shared love of street racing puts both their lives in jeopardy, they have six weeks to come up with a way out. Six weeks to discover just how far they’ll go to save each other.

Ope’s Opinion:   As always Katie McGarry knows how to write a book that captures you on page one and keeps your attention through to the end.  

The story made progress by seeing things from alternating point of view of Rachel and Isaiah.  Beth, Ryan, Logan and others make an appearance in this book.  It is good to see some of their relationships move along.

This book has similar angst as her other books.  There seems to be a common thread in her books of one person coming from a family of privilege and another from a difficult family.   They meet and fall in love.  The other common link in her books is the constant use of the “f” word.  I understand that it is part of the vocabulary for some people, but it is over used in her books.

Rating:  Four Chairs – I like this book so much I know several friends to share it with.

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Dare You To

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Author: Katie McGarrydare
Publisher:  Harlequin Teen
Pages:  456
Genre:  Young Adult
Source: Purchased

 

 

 

Goodreads:  Ryan lowers his lips to my ear. “Dance with me, Beth.”

“No.” I whisper the reply. I hate him and I hate myself for wanting him to touch me again….

“I dare you…”

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk’s home life, they’d send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom’s freedom and her own happiness. That’s how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn’t want her and going to a school that doesn’t understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn’t get her, but does….

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can’t tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn’t be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won’t let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all…

Ope’s Opinion:  Oh My Goodness … This was an awesome read!  At times I found myself holding my breath, not being able to read fast enough.  I am a slow reader, this is a long book and I read it three days!  I recommend you don’t start this book unless you have time to finish it.

As usual, Katie McGarry wrote deep characters with a lot of depth to their personalities.  Beth frustrated me a few times during this book.  Because of her back ground, she struggles trusting people.  Ryan isn’t what he seems at first.  It was good to see he had his own issues to deal.

My only problem with the book is the language – which I understand was probably a part of their lives, but I thought it was a bit over used.

Rating:  Five Chairs – This book is so good it will be passed on and on and on….
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The Three Month Plan

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Author:  Kimberley Patterson               three month
Publisher: CreateSpace
Pages:  260
Genre:  Young Adult
Source:  Virtual Author Book Tours

Goodreads:  Kelly Callahan had everything going for her. Everything that is, except for a relationship. It wasn’t for the lack of trying, it just seemed like she was a magnet for all the wrong ones. But all of that was about to change the minute she laid eyes on Jake.
On a dare from her close friend, Michelle, Kelly accepts a challenge to date and become Jake’s girlfriend within three months. The consequence of losing is global humiliation, and she refuses to lose.

Enlisting the help of her childhood friend and confidant, Brian, Kelly manages to catch Jakes attention. She also unknowingly hooks Brian who tries to sabotage the plan. Kelly finds herself with a dilemma; take the final step with Jake and win the plan or follow her heart and reveal her feelings for Brian.

Ope’s Opinion:  I really enjoyed reading this book.  It is definitely young adult love. It has a predictable ending, but getting there has some fun twists and turns along the way.  This was a fast and easy read.

The characters are well develop, realistic and very likable. It was great that it was written from both Kelly’s and Brian’s perspectives.  It gave you the inside view of each of their thoughts. I was so proud of Kelly and her values.  I do wish I had known what Jake was thinking.  

The ending was cute and there was a little surprise.   I would recommend this to YA fans.

Rating:  Four Chairs – I like this book so much I know several friends to share it with.
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