Review: My Life Undecided by Jessica Brody

Title: My Life Undecided
Author: Jessica Brody
Publisher: Farrar, Straus, Giroux BYR
Pub. Date: 6.7.2011
Genre: Contemporary YA
Keywords: Blogging, Decisions, Family, Friends, Love, High School
Pages: 320
Description (from Goodreads):
PLEASE READ THIS! MY LIFE DEPENDS ON IT!

Okay, maybe that was a bit melodramatic, but I’m sorry, I’m feeling a bit melodramatic at the moment.

Here’s the deal. My name is Brooklyn Pierce, I’m fifteen years old, and I am decisionally challenged. Seriously, I can’t remember the last good decision I made. I can remember plenty of crappy ones though. Including that party I threw when my parents were out of town that accidentally burned down a model home. Yeah, not my finest moment, for sure.

But see, that’s why I started a blog. To enlist readers to make my decisions for me. That’s right. I gave up. Threw in the towel. I let someone else be the one to decide which book I read for English. Or whether or not I accepted an invitation to join the debate team from that cute-in-a-dorky-sort-of-way guy who gave me the Heimlich Maneuver in the cafeteria. (Note to self: Chew the melon before swallowing it.) I even let them decide who I dated!

Well, it turns out there are some things in life you simply can’t choose or have chosen for you—like who you fall in love with. And now everything’s more screwed up than ever.

But don’t take my word for it, read the book and decide for yourself. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll scream in frustration. Or maybe that’s just me. After all, it’s my life.


Oh, Jessica Brody, you've done it again... 


I adored Brody's THE KARMA CLUB and have been anxiously awaiting MY LIFE UNDECIDED for months. After all, MLU combines a teen girl, cute boys, bad decisions, funny decisions, and a BLOG. Really, the blog alone (okay, and maybe the boys) would have done it for me, but Brody goes above and beyond, which is always a good thing in an author...


At first, I worried that Brooklyn's age, 15, coupled with this particular plot would make the novel feel a bit too immature for my tastes, but I shouldn't have worried. While Brooklyn does, for the most part, act like a 15 year old, Brody's use of humor provided a healthy balance and served as a distraction. I never felt like the story was slowed... she was able to just be a confused 15 year old girl, even if the reader is a few years older. Additionally, I would feel comfortable handing this novel to a younger reader as well... Perhaps not any younger than Middle School, but there wasn't anything particularly scandalous.


I love the whole concept of this novel. It may not be entirely realistic, but, as a real life blogger, I can say there are parts of this novel that ring true. I've never had an entire blog dedicated to my life decisions, but I can't tell you how many times I've utilized Twitter when making a decision... Should I buy this? Did anyone see this movie and like it? I'm bored... what should I do? Brooklyn takes this idea to a whole new level... and learns quite a few things in the process.


The endeavor might have been slightly misguided, but many teens will empathize with Brooklyn. She's really screwed up this time around... And making the wrong decision is sometimes entirely too tempting. Having someone else make your decisions takes all the pressure off you. If it's a good decision, great! If it's a bad decision, hey... I didn't make it! At some point in your life, you'll realize that, ultimately, only you can make your decisions - it's just the way the world works - but it was an adventure to watch Brooklyn discover this for herself (and in a much more fun and exciting way than most of us do)!


I can't wait to read Brody's next offering... I fully expect it'll make me laugh... and think.

Review: Hourglass by Myra McEntire

Title: Hourglass
Author: Myra McEntire
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Pub. Date: 6.14.2011
Genre: Paranormal YA
Keywords: Time Travel, Romance, Mystery, Paranormal
Pages: 397
Description (from Goodreads):

One hour to rewrite the past . . .
 
For seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is about seeing what isn’t there: swooning Southern Belles; soldiers long forgotten; a haunting jazz trio that vanishes in an instant. Plagued by phantoms since her parents’ death, she just wants the apparitions to stop so she can be normal. She’s tried everything, but the visions keep coming back.

So when her well-meaning brother brings in a consultant from a secretive organization called the Hourglass, Emerson’s willing to try one last cure. But meeting Michael Weaver may not only change her future, it may change her past.

Who is this dark, mysterious, sympathetic guy, barely older than Emerson herself, who seems to believe every crazy word she says? Why does an electric charge seem to run through the room whenever he’s around? And why is he so insistent that he needs her help to prevent a death that never should have happened?

Full of atmosphere, mystery, and romance, Hourglass merges the very best of the paranormal and science-fiction genres in a seductive, remarkable young adult debut.


I fell in love with the cover of HOURGLASS the first time I saw it and thought there was a good chance I'd like the novel, but I was entirely unprepared for just how much I would love it.


Myra McEntire's debut novel is absolutely fantastic. I haven't read all the many time travel novels other than HOURGLASS, but, if other authors can do it half as well as McEntire, I feel I should make this a priority.


Time travel is such a crazy, whimsical idea and I'm pretty confident that most people have had time travel fantasies, so a novel in which a character, who has experienced great tragedy in her life, discovers that it isn't impossible to jump back in time - and perhaps even change the past -  is a very, very good idea. The entire premise is incredibly seductive. 


One of the best things about this novel? The romance. Hands down. At times, the whole 'we're ridiculously drawn to one another but are forbidden to actually pursue out feelings' thing can be annoying, but I really enjoyed it in HOURGLASS. I think it helped that Emerson and Michael weren't kept apart just because Michael had some deep, dark secret, but also for normal, teenage reasons - like Emerson's brother/guardian insisting she and Michael keep their relationship professional.


Plus, this novel is twisty. It has an epic air about it and just as soon as the reader gets comfortable, McEntire throws in a totally unexpected element. Readers won't sit back and casually enjoy the ride with this one - this author keeps you on your toes.


Sometimes I feel like I need a break from paranormal YA, but then I pick up one like this and I remember just why this genre is so wonderful!

Waiting on Wednesday

WoW is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine!

He's So Not Worth It by Kieran Scott
Simon & Schuster/6.7.2011
Description (from Goodreads):

Ally Ryan, come on down to the Jersey Shore and forget your troubles!

Have you recently been humiliated in front of your friends and family at your former best friend's birthday party? Was your almost boyfriend partly responsible for that humiliation by withholding some vital information about where your estranged father is? Did you come home to find said estranged father sitting on your stoop?

If so, then it sounds like you could use a vacation! The Jersey Shore is the place to be. Your mother may be living with her boyfriend of only a few months, but at least the stunt Shannen pulled has put some of your friends back in your court. Even so, you're still angry and what better way to get over Jake than to blow off some steam with local guy, Cooper? People will hardly recognize your new attitude, but the old one wasn't getting you anywhere, so who cares!

Jake Graydon, an exciting opportunity is waiting for you in the service industry!

Are your grades so low your parents have grounded you for the summer? Did you the girl you really like unceremoniously leave you behind? Would you rather eat dirt than see your friends again? Then a job at the local coffee shop is just the ticket! Surprisingly, Ally's father is the new manager so you get to be reminded of her nearly every day. Maybe it's time to start flirting with your best friend's ex or even taking school a bit more seriously. Especially when you finally see Ally and she's hanging around with some loser and it's couldn't be more clear that she is over you.

Have a great summer!

I love, love, loved SHE'S SO DEAD TO US, the first Ally Ryan book, and was so pumped when this popped up on my Goodreads feed. The cover is adorable and the description... well I think it's obvious how great the description is. Of course, after reading, my eyes went directly to the release date... June! How will I ever make it that long?

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine!

Queen of the Dead by Stacey Kade
Hyperion/6.7.2011
Description (from GoodReads):
After being sent back from the light, Alona Dare - former homecoming queen, current Queen of the Dead - finds herself doing something she never expected: working. Instead of spending days perfecting her tan by the pool (her typical summer routine when she was, you know, alive), Alona must now cater to the needs of other lost spirits. By her side for all of this - ugh - “helping of others” is Will Killian: social outcast, seer of the dead, and someone Alona cares about more than she’d like.

Before Alona can make a final ruling on Will’s “friend” or “more” status, though, she discovers trouble at home. Her mom is tossing out Alona’s most valuable possessions, and her dad is expecting a new daughter with his wicked wife. Is it possible her family is already moving on? Hello! She’s only been dead for two months! Thankfully, Alona knows just the guy who can put a stop to this mess.

Unfortunately for Alona, Will has other stuff on his mind, and Mina, a young (and beautiful) seer, is at the top of the list. She’s the first ghost-talker Will’s ever met—aside from his father—and she may hold answers to Will’s troubled past. But can she be trusted? Alona immediately puts a check mark in the “clearly not” column. But Will is - ahem - willing to find out, even if it means leaving a hurt and angry Alona to her own devices, which is never a good idea.

Packed with romance, lovable characters, and a killer cliffhanger, Queen of the Dead is the out-of-this-world sequel to The Ghost and the Goth.


Is it June yet?? I read THE GHOST AND THE GOTH a week ago and I already miss Alona and Will... and this description is not helping! 


I'm totally rooting for Alona and Will to be more than just friends and I'm wondering how Alona's going to react to this new, pretty seer vying for Will's attention. 


I feel like I'm going to get my hands on this book, devour it, then sit around dreaming of book three... I mean, a killer cliffhanger? Good grief!

Cover of the Week (26)

Between the Sea & Sky by Jaclyn Dolamore
Bloomsbury/6.7.2011
Description (from GoodReads):
For as long as Esmerine can remember, she has longed to join her sister as a siren, the highest calling a mermaid can have. But when her sister runs away to the mainland, reportedly to elope with a human, Esmerine is sent to retrieve her.

Using magic to transform her tail into legs, she makes her way unsteadily through the streets of New Sweeling. There, she will come upon a friend she hasn't seen since childhood - Alandare, a boy, now a man, who belongs to a winged race of people. Together, Esmerine and Alandare put aside their differences to find her sister, and in the process discover a love that cannot be bound by land, sea, or air.

I've been in love with the description of Dolamore's sophmore novel and I'm so glad to say that I might be even more in love with the cover!