Tag: YA (Page 2 of 5)

First & Then by Emma Mills

July 6, 2017 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: I borrowed this one from my local library.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Devon Tennyson wouldn’t change a thing. She’s happy watching Friday night games from the bleachers, silently crushing on best friend Cas, and blissfully ignoring the future after high school. But the universe has other plans. It delivers Devon’s cousin Foster, an unrepentant social outlier with a surprising talent for football, and the obnoxiously superior and maddeningly attractive star running back, Ezra, right where she doesn’t want them: first into her P.E. class and then into every other aspect of her life.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): Most of the book was sweet, charming and very engaging. But there was one thing which really bothered me. More on that later.

Devon Tennyson is a high school senior. She considers herself average, ordinary and uninspiring. Her parents are still together, they all get along well; no major traumas have really touched her life. She has no particular passion; there’s no career or sport or hobby she’s all that attached to. She has a huge unrequited crush on her best friend, Cassidy (Cas) but otherwise, she thinks there’s not much all that interesting about her. She’s wrong of course because everyone is interesting in one way or another but I get where she’s coming from. And, in the end, she celebrates about herself some of those things she bemoans when the book begins. Continue reading

Review at Dear Author

June 28, 2017 / Kaetrin

I’m over at Dear Author with a review of Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett. Fabulous YA romance. Recommended.

Review at AudioGals

February 21, 2017 / Kaetrin

I’m over at AudioGals with a review of Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles, narrated by Blas Kisic & Roxanne Hernandez. Gritty YA with a solid romance.

Review at Dear Author

January 12, 2017 / Kaetrin

I’m over at Dear Author with a review of If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo. It’s YA and not a romance (although it does have romantic elements), but I enjoyed it very much.

Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

January 8, 2017 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: I borrowed this book from my local library.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) When Brittany Ellis walks into chemistry class on the first day of senior year, she has no clue that her carefully created “perfect” life is about to unravel before her eyes. She’s forced to be lab partners with Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the other side of town, and he is about to threaten everything she’s worked so hard for-her flawless reputation, her relationship with her boyfriend, and the secret that her home life is anything but perfect. Alex is a bad boy and he knows it. So when he makes a bet with his friends to lure Brittany into his life, he thinks nothing of it. But soon Alex realizes Brittany is a real person with real problems, and suddenly the bet he made in arrogance turns into something much more. In a passionate story about looking beneath the surface, Simone Elkeles breaks through the stereotypes and barriers that threaten to keep Brittany and Alex apart.

What worked for me (and what didn’t):

I’ve listened to (and enjoyed) Wild Cards (now retitled to Better Than Perfect) by Simone Elkeles and I know she has a reputation for writing great YA romance. So, I’ve had Perfect Chemistry on my radar for a while now but I’ve only just got around to actually reading it.

The story is told in the dual, alternating POV of Alex Fuentes and Brittany Ellis. They both go to the same Chicago high school. The story begins on day one of their senior year.

Brittany is from a wealthy family but her home life is not idyllic. Her father works a lot and is often away, her mother is obsessed with appearances and, apparently, perfection. Brittany’s sister, Shelley, was born with cerebral palsy and is quite disabled. She is confined to a wheelchair and is non-verbal. She can communicate through a computer keyboard which synthesises a voice for her and she does say a few words which are understandable to those familiar with her. She requires constant care but finding in-home helpers is difficult. Brittany’s parents consider sending Shelley away to a facility and Brittany sees this as a terrible option – one which punishes Shelley for being less than perfect and one which is done not for her (Shelley’s) well-being but for selfish reasons on the part of her parents. However, Brittany’s life looks, from the outside, as if it’s pretty perfect. She wears the right clothes, drives a fancy new sports car, is popular – including being the girlfriend of the star quarterback on the high school football team. She keeps her private life very private indeed – very few of her friends even know she has a sister, let alone anything else.

Favourites of 2016

December 27, 2016 / Kaetrin

I’ll be posted my favourites out of the DA-reviewed books over there and my favourite audiobooks reviewed at AudioGals will be going up over there – but this is where I mention the books I read and loved and reviewed here. Most of my favourites this year were reviewed at Dear Author or AudioGals as it happens but there were two books which I reviewed only here and which stood out to me so much that they deserved to get a special mention.

Completely different books but both brilliant – and also: Australian for extra bonus points. You can read my review of Summer Skin here and of Illuminae here.