Review (25): Narrative Loserdom

Narrative Loserdom

by Ryan Collins

Series: Narrative Loserdom, Journal 1

Other Reviewed Titles: None

Release Date: December 1, 2011

Publisher: CreateSpace

Pages: 190

Source: ARC

Challenge: None

Justin Taggart doesn’t know anything (about being a loser). He likes girls and plays sports and has some friends. Unfortunately his fear of rejection outweighs his ability to deal with these well. Mostly there’s Sterling, the girl of his dreams who knows how to stop his heart by not knowing hie likes her. Another thing is trying to get money with Adam, who’s rich anyways so it’s more about hanging out. As for Justin, he makes ends meet by mowing people’s yards with Adam, and sometimes by breaking into vending machines and selling late-night cable programming to peers (also with Adam). But it’s not like he doesn’t feel bad about it since Jesus died for his sins. School is pretty terrible with all the work and practice, but there are a few people there worth mentioning. Anyone who picks up his journal will be in for something if they feel like getting through a lot of grammar and spelling problems. They’ll probably end up seeing that they shouldn’t have looked at it anyway, because this is someone’s private anthem of girls, grass, and loserdom.

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Plot: There wasn’t much of a plot, mostly because this is the journal of a rambling, 16 year old boy named Justin Taggart. Each journal entry is like a little story about his day or something that happened to him or something that frustrated him. He talks about a lot of different things like girls (1 in particular), his best friend Adam, his various “jobs”, high school and football practice. Some entries are really interesting, others are kind of boring, and then some had me going “WHAT? Why would you do that?!” and then laughing. 

Characters: Because the chapters are all set as journal entries it is very easy to get to know Justin. This book is written by him, not about him so we really get to see into his head. He pretty much just writes down whatever pops up. At points he was slightly too obsessed with Sterling, but in a funny way. And then there’s his best friend, Adam. By the end of the book I still couldn’t really figure out their friendship. They were best friends, but it almost felt like they didn’t even really like each other that much which was strange. Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of “best friends”? The characters were all pretty relatable, but would have been more so if I were a teenage boy I’m sure. 

Cover:  The cover is a little too plain and doesn’t really go with the whole journal/diary theme of the book.

Overall Impression: Probably would have been more enjoyable if I were a boy and knew what they were talking about half the time, but still a nice read!

Rating: * * *

Thank you to the author for sending me the copy for review!

Crossed off Challenge List: Marked

Rating: * * * * 

This post is purely to announce that I have read and crossed Marked (House of Night, 1) by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast off of the following challenge lists:

2012 OTS

This is just a way for me to easily keep track of my progress, no review to come.

Crossed off Challenge List: Wanted

Rating: * * * * 

This post is purely to announce that I have read and crossed Wanted (Pretty Little Liars, 8) by Sara Shepard off of the following challenge lists:

2012 OTS

This is just a way for me to easily keep track of my progress, no review to come.

Review (24): Spear of Seth

Spear of Seth

by Rene Daniel

Series: Tales of the Van Senmut College, book 1

Other Reviewed Titles: None

Release Date: June 16, 2011

Publisher: Createspace

Pages: 246

Source: ARC

Challenge: None
Author Website

What will Alex Khyan do when he faces a world he thought existed only in dreams of an ancient civilization? Alex needs a summer job, and gets one. It is not what he is used to, since he will work as a translator at an archeological dig at the island of Elephantine in the Upper Egypt.  Little does he know what he is getting himself into. Enter Heather and her father, John Van Senmut, the archeologist in charge of the excavations. The dig is not just some dig; it is the ruins of the Temple of Osiris, which stands at the mythical place where Nile emerges from the Egyptian Underworld. When John Van Senmut, falls ill and physicians give up on him, his daughter decides to search the Temple for the cause of the disease and possibly a cure. Her quest leads her, and her unwilling helper Alex, into the Netherworld, which survived the Egyptian civilization by two thousand years. They negotiate its dangers, as well as dangers which come from their contemporaries. They have only one guide – the Book of Gates.

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Plot: Spear of Seth is very Indiana-Jones-like. The action begins right away and you are swept into a very detailed Egyptian adventure filled with treasure hunting, danger, and suspense. Every myth, legend and historical fact needed to understand exactly what they are searching for is clearly described to us. This really came in handy as I had no idea what any of the things they were talking about were. However, at times it was also a little overwhelming and I had trouble remembering and even understanding some of it. I’m not exactly sure how much of this is fact and how much is fiction, but either way, it is clear that a lot of time went into the organization, and maybe even research, of the story.

Characters: The book is told in alternating view points with the speaker clearly written at the beginning of each chapter. Some are told by Alex Khyan, while others are told by Heather Van Senmut. Both are college students who for different reasons get caught in the middle of this big adventure. We find out that Heather is related to the founding family of Van Senmut college and that Alex’s mom is Lebanese which is why he can speak Arabic, but not much else. A little more background into both would have been a great help as I had difficulty figuring them out. There is also a bunch of secondary characters that help both Heather and Alex along the way. Some were very helpful and trustworthy, while others only pretended to be. It frustrated me whenever one of these new “allies” betrayed them! 

Cover: I feel that the cover perfectly reflects the book and it’s Egyptian adventure theme, it gives a perfect clue as to what to expect when you finally open up the book and read it.

Overall Impression: Fans of Indiana Jones and other adventure stories will definitely enjoy and appreciate this story.

                                                             Rating: * * *

Thank you to the author for sending me the copy for review.

And click here to read the prologue and first 2 chapters!

Review (23): Ugly to Start With

Ugly to Start With

by John Michael Cummings

Series: None

Other Reviewed Titles: None

Release Date: October 1, 2011

Publisher: West Virginia University Press

Pages: 168

Source: PDF

Challenge: None

Jason Stevens is growing up in picturesque Harpers Ferry, West Virginia in the 1970s. Back when the roads are smaller, the cars are slower, the people more colorful, and Washington, D.C. is way across the mountains-- a winding sixty-five miles away.

Jason dreams of going to art school in the city, but he must first survive his teenage years. He witnesses a street artist from Italy charm his mother from the backseat of the family car. He stands up to an abusive husband-- and then feels sorry for the jerk. He puts up with his father’s hard-skulled backwoods ways, his grandfather’s showy younger wife, and the fist-throwing schoolmates and eccentric mountain characters that make up Harpers Ferry-- all topped off by a basement art project with a girl from the poor side of town. 

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Plot: This book is actually a series of short stories about a young boy named Jason. The stories are all pretty random, the only thing that connects them all is Jason. All 13 stories are events in Jason’s life that made an impact on his childhood. The first few stories focused on his family; on his mother, brothers but mostly on his father. Then the focus shifts and we start to see Jason searching for new friends and meeting a homosexual neighbor which leads to doubts about himself. There are a few risky subjects, some sexual content, especially in Carter, and strong language that you should definitely be on the look out for.

Characters: Jason is a very curious, smart and a big dreamer, but I didn’t relate to him. Although we are in his head the entire time and get to know him pretty well, there was just something...missing. It might have been because I’m a girl and I probably couldn’t really connect with the male perspective. But overall the characters were all very believable. My favorite would definitely have to be his mom; she was just everything you want in a mother.

Cover: I really liked the cover, it was simple which is definitely the opposite of this book.

Overall Impression: This isn’t my typical read and, had I not been contacted, I probably never would have picked it up, but I still enjoyed it. Definitely a good read for adults.

                                                                  Rating: * * *

Thank you to the author for sending me the copy for review.

Review (22): Boys, Girls and Other Hazardous Materials

Boys, Girls and Other Hazardous Materials

by Rosalind Wiseman

Series: None

Other Reviewed Titles: None

Release Date: January 6, 2011

Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)

Pages: 282

Source: Purchased

Challenge: 2012 OTS

Author Website

There’s no such thing as a drama-free year. 

Charlie Healy is done with drama. After surviving a middle school packed iwth mean girls, Charlie is ready to leave all that behind. But then, on her very first day of high school, she runs into her former best friend, Will, who moved away years ago. Now he’s back, he’s HOT, and he’s popular-- and he takes Charlie back into the danger zone of the popular crowd. But when a hazing prank goes very wrong, Charlie has to decide where her loyalties lie. 

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Plot: The first half of the book focuses on Charlie finding her way around her new school and making new, and much better, friends while the second half focuses on the actual hazing stuff and what some students feel they need to do in order to fit in. I can’t really say I related much to either because that sort of thing doesn’t happen at my high school, but I know it is a common occurrence in others. There was a lot more dialogue then I felt necessary. Really there were just a lot of unnecessary words in general. Overall it was a pretty predictable plot. Only a few things seemed to shock me, but only because I felt they were random.

Characters: I liked Charlie and could really relate to her need to ditch her middle school friends and find new, drama-free ones. I was glad to see her finally standing up for herself and doing what she knew was right. I love that she stayed true to herself. Will was a sweetheart and just a normal teenage boy trying to fit in and be liked by his fellow teammates and schoolmates. Their crushes on each other were very obvious and I saw then ending coming from the beginning. I’ve always been a fan of the best-friends-turned-into-a-couple romance and theirs was no different. 

Cover: I felt that the cover and, even the title, was a bit misleading. It made me think there was going to be a lot of chemistry involved, but there wasn’t any chemistry between the characters and I don’t even think that was one of their classes. It’s still cute though.

Overall Impression: I had heard a lot about this book which set my expectations pretty high and unfortunately I don’t feel like they were met.

Fun Fact: The movie Mean Girls was loosely based off of Rosalind Wiseman’s other book, Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and Other Realities of Adolescence. 

                                                                  Rating: * * * 

Review (21): Chain Reaction

Chain Reaction

by Simone Elkeles

Series: Perfect Chemisty, #3

Other Reviewed Titles: None

Release Date: August 16, 2011

Publisher: Walker Publishing Company, Inc.

Pages: 308

Source: Purchased

Challenge: 2012 OTS

Author Website: http://www.simoneelkeles.net/

The youngest Fuentes brother will risk everything to protect his family.

Luis Fuentes has always been sheltered from the gang violence that nearly destroyed his brothers’ lives. But that didn’t stop him from taking risks whether he’s scaling a mountain in the Rockies or dreaming of a future as an astronaut, Luis can’t stop looking for the next thrill.

Nikki Cruz lives her life by three rules -- boys lie to get their way, don’t trust a boy who says “I love you,” and never date a boy from the south side of Fairfield. Her parents may be from Mexico, but as a doctor’s daughter, she has more in common with her north-side neighbors than the Latino Blood at her school. Then she meets Luis at Alex’s wedding, and suddenly, she’s tempter to break all her rules.
Getting Nikki to take a chance on a south sider is Luis’s biggest challenge, until he finds himself targeted by Chuy Soto, the new head of the Latino Blood. When Chuy revveals a disturbing secret about Luis’s family, the youngest Fuentes finds himself questioning everything he’s ever believed to be true. Will his feelings for Nikki be enough to stop Luis from entering a dark and violent world and permanently living on the edge?

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- Spoiler-y if you have not read first two Perfect Chemistry books -

Plot: The plot of Chain Reaction was very similar to the plot of the first two; a Fuentes brother gets mixed up with the Latino Blood, his rich hoity-toity girlfriend disapproves of his gang affiliation and eventually loves trumps all. I was kind of hoping to see something at least slightly different with this third installment, but it fell short. Even though it was very similar, it didn’t have the same impact on me that the first two did. In Perfect Chemistry, the LB terrified me and I was constantly scared for Alex, yet in this one, the threats just didn’t seem as threatening nor did the danger feel as dangerous. There was honestly no reason for Luis to get jumped into the gang and I felt he completely overreacted when he found out the big “secret”. 

Characters: To be honest, I didn’t really like either Luis or Nikki. The beginning of the book started off with them being 15 and then the book fast forwards to two years later, but it sort of felt like they hadn’t matured or aged at all. I had to remind myself that they were, indeed, 17. And both constantly said one thing and then did the complete opposite which was frustrating. My favorite thing about these Simone Elkeles books is the intense and sexy romances. This book didn’t have either. The romance felt too forced and rushed to me which really took away from my overall enjoyment of the novel. They went from hating each other to loving each other in 2 seconds flat. It was a bit unrealistic because they didn’t even really know each other, I felt. There was a lot more emotional connection with the first two books and I really liked those romances better. 

Cover: Of the three books, this isn’t my favorite cover. I didn’t really understand the whole shower thing, but I do like that all the covers are really similar and that each features the appropriate Fuentes brother.

Overall Impression: Alex and Carlos will forever be my favorites, so if you haven’t at least read the first book in the series, you definitely should. 

Rating: * * *