In My Mailbox - 12 June

In My Mailbox is a lovely concept shaped by Alea at Pop Culture Junkie and Kristi at The Story Siren. All book summaries are taken from Goodreads.

Endless Summer - Jennifer Echols (read review here)

Two irresistible boys. One unforgettable summer.

Lori can't wait for her summer at the lake. She loves wake boarding and hanging with her friends--including the two hotties next door. With the Vader brothers, she's always been just one of the guys. Now that she's turning sixteen, she wants to be seen as one of the girls, especially in the eyes of Sean, the older brother. But that's not going to happen--not if the younger brother, Adam, can help it.Lori plans to make Sean jealous by spending time with Adam. Adam has plans of his own for Lori. As the air heats up, so does this love triangle.

Will Lori's romantic summer melt into one hot mess?

The Star Shack - Lila Castle

Pete and Annabelle live for their summers together on Gingerbread Beach. They've always believed they were a perfect pair… until junior year, when Annabelle becomes obsessed with astrology. Now they can hardly stand each other. Pete thinks that Annabelle (a Leo) has become a total flake; Annabelle thinks Pete (a Scorpio) has become an uptight jerk.

When Annabelle dares Pete to open a summer business on the Boardwalk generating personalized horoscopes, their fast-paced, hilarious bickering soon rises to a fever pitch. The he-said/she-said advice of the Star Shack is wildly popular and seems able to fix any relationship problem… except their own.

But when one of Annabelle's star charts helps catch a thief, Pete might have to admit that the stars could really hold the key to the future…and to his own heart.

Glimpse - Stacey Wallace Benefiel

Zellie Wells has a devastating crush on Avery Adams, the son of her mom’s high school sweetheart. At her sixteenth birthday party, held in the basement of her dad’s church, she finally finds the courage to talk to him. Turns out, the devastating crush is mutual.

As Avery takes her hand and leads her out onto the makeshift dance floor, Zellie is overwhelmed by her first vision of his death; shocking because not only are they both covered in his blood, but they’re old, like 35, and she is pregnant.

Afraid to tell anyone about the vision, (she’d just be labeled a freaky black magic witch, right?) Zellie keeps the knowledge of Avery’s future to herself and tries to act like any other teenager in love. When they get caught on their way to a secret rendezvous by her mom and his dad, they are forbidden to see each other.

Convinced that their parents are freaking out unnecessarily, Avery and Zellie vow to be together no matter what. They continue their relationship in secret until Zellie learns that their parents are just trying to prevent her and Avery from suffering like they did. The visions are hereditary, they’re dangerous, and if they stay together the visions will come true.

Now Zellie must choose between severing all ties with Avery, like her mom did to prevent his father’s death, and finding a way to change Avery’s future.

Looking for contributors: http://snarkandbark.blogspot.com

Review - Endless Summer / Jennifer Echols

Two irresistible boys. One unforgettable summer.

Lori can't wait for her summer at the lake. She loves wake boarding and hanging with her friends--including the two hotties next door. With the Vader brothers, she's always been just one of the guys. Now that she's turning sixteen, she wants to be seen as one of the girls, especially in the eyes of Sean, the older brother. But that's not going to happen--not if the younger brother, Adam, can help it.

Lori plans to make Sean jealous by spending time with Adam. Adam has plans of his own for Lori. As the air heats up, so does this love triangle. Will Lori's romantic summer melt into one hot mess? Goodreads

Review - Presented in alternating perspectives of the love struck duo from The Boys Next Door, Echols throws us back into their story right from the moment we left off. Just like the proceeding novel, it's quick as a flash, with delectable banter and enough emotional turmoil to propel a train across a continent.

Lori's still caught up in her need to fix things using the most devious (and doomed to fail) methods. Adam's still struggling to keep his feelings under control. As they are already together, the plot of the book is mainly devoted to their manoeuvring around Lori's dad's decree that they aren't allowed to date (or go anywhere near one another). It's all hustle and bustle as the reader is thrown from steamy and stealthy couple time to fierce sibling rivalry to the very real threat of parental interference. It's all high emotion and as a result you are bouncing from one incident to another like a bug in a matchbox....except it is more fun.

Echols has a way of weaving a tale so that you feel right there, next to the protagonists as they experience the many emotional hurdles she places before them. Both Lori and Adam are their own worst enemies in completely different way. Lori's stubborn devotion to her craptastic plans gets tiresome after awhile as she focuses solely on what she wants to achieve and not about the possible implications along the way. She irritated me so much that I wanted to reach into the pages of the book and throw some of the dreaded bryozoa at her. Adam's need to stick his foot in his mouth, kick his teeth a little and floss with his shoelaces also add both humour and a seriousness that keeps the reader of their toes. What I am trying to say is that the characters are real in their waivering judgement, their immaturity at times and their inability to communicate what the other needs to hear. They are fully formed individuals. Of particular note is Adam's issues within his family, specifically his mother and Sean, they are addressed and serve to highlight his constant battle with ADHD. A scene between Adam and Lori's father further spotlights how this condition affects his attention span when his focus is very necessary. They are flawed people with flawed decision making that happen to be perfect for one another.

Adam and Lori are engaging characters. The alternating perspectives allow them to rationalise their choices but also allow the reader to feel actively involved. Engagement is the key here. Whether I wanted to kick Lori's butt, applaud McGillicuddy for his brotherly antics, fan myself during kissing scenes or laugh at an incident involving male egos and heights, I was right there with them. A book that doesn't make you feel is just a pile of paper.

If there's anything to critique, I would say that there was a little too much couple action going on. Echols hadn't planned on there being a sequel to The Boys Next Door and I suspect that, combined with the time frame, this may have constricted what she could achieve with some of the secondary characters. I love the brothers, this novel allowed them to be fleshed out more and portrayed the truly contradictory nature of siblings. On the other hand, there wasn't a huge amount for Lori's friends to do but the story didn't suffer for this. The story is Lori and Adam's, football bruises, snogs and all.

A perfect summer read for those who like their reads saucy.

Published: May 25, 2010

Format: Volume of The Boys Next Door and Endless Summer, 587 pages

Publisher: MTV Books

Source: author

Origin: USA

http://www.jennifer-echols.com

Responding to Lock and Key / Sarah Dessen

Some of you might know that in a previous blogging life I was the Sarah Dessen Diarist. It's quite a perculiar thing...reading the paragraph of an author's work and then writing a response and so on until the chapter's finished. I covered five of her titles in this way for well over a year and I really got to know her work well. You might understand why I am on a hiatus for SDD right now :)

As I am still in midst of a reading slump, I shall be relaying quotes from my chapter by chapter responses to Dessen's Lock and Key.

Here's some quotes from my responses for the book:

• Our first introduction to our protagonist, Ruby, is her musing that her new room is probably one of those heinous, ‘dream bedroom’ monstrosities. It would be my nightmare too. In my head Ruby was worried her room might look something like this, which you know would be my own personal circle of hell. Let’s face it applique is a tool of the devil.
• There is something compelling about a single key. In my mind it symbolises loneliness, emptiness and sadness. It also shows strength. It kind of describes Ruby.
• I love the way Olivia helps train her sister. Through threats and verbal abuse. Very sisterly. I think I have heard Olivia’s words come out of my mouth and fly out towards my own sister.
• Hearing a little of Harriet’s back story gave me a stronger impression of her and an admiration for what she has accomplished. She is living her chosen life – the way she wants, no compromises. The only thing Ruby has to do is work to high expectations.

“…her neurosis was so annoying – following along behind me, checking and redoing each thing I did, taking over every task so I sometimes spent entire shifts doing nothing at all…”

Welcome to my mother, Ruby. This is the other end of the mother spectrum. Sure I didn’t see my mom bringing weird men home but I sure did have to fend her off when my zits proved to be way too tempting to pop. I have also lived with the knowledge that my inability to correct garb myself in matching hues has forever scarred my mother. Harriet sounds like a joy in comparison.

• So apparently all I needed to know to succeed in maths was – take my time, prime my brain and get into it. Why didn’t anyone tell me this fifteen years ago?
• Ruby needs control. Being left to the whims of others is not her deal, hence the display of stubbornness that rivals the worst of Elizabeth Hasselbeck.
• Roscoe the dog appears to have more “toys” than I. I am jealous.

So that's what I used to do before Persnickety Snark. Every day I would write a 2000+ word response to a chapter of Dessen's work. It was enormously fun, especially knowing that Sarah read them and seemed to enjoy them. I keep meaning to return to it and maybe someday I will.

But for now, I keep wishing fervently that Sarah Dessen magically appears in NYC during my stay for a book signing or something. Not going to happen but a gal can hope.

Review - When It Happens / Susane Colasanti

At the start of her senior year, Sara wants two things: to get into a top college and to find true love. Tobey also wants two things in his senior year: to win Battle of the Bands and to make Sara fall in love with him. A popular jock named Dave, though, moves in on Sara first. But Tobey's quirky wit and big blue eyes are hard for Sara to ignore. Plus, he gets the little things that matter to her - like why she loves the Lloyd Dobler boom-box scene in the movie Say Anything....Can a slacker rock-star wanna be win the heart of a pretty class brain like Sara?

Review - This was my first foray into the world of Colastani and I was really happy to be taken along on a ride that features the perspectives of both romantic leads. I am a sucker for well executed duel-perspective narratives and this one definite makes the grade. Unlike many contemporary romances, When It Happens hasn't been toned down with the intent of not offended the masses. The sprinkling of real life issues makes this more than a fluff-fest.

What is most curious about this novel is the fact that after our two leads fall in love, we spend time with them as a couple. It's not a kiss, love declaration and goodbye kind of deal. I really appreciate that Colasanti chose to do this when resolving sexual tension is usually the death knell for any story (or a story with poor writing.) The dichotomy of what these two people want in the beginning of the story and at its conclusion is quite an interesting journey. Sara wants to have a Sweet Valley High Todd Wilkins type and be popular, Tobey wants Sara. What they find it that their expectations don't meet up with reality and sometimes this can be a disappointment or a surprise.

There's a certain level of ....schmoopiness (my mother's term) to them as a couple that can be a little much. But then I am cynical hag way past my teen years. There were couples like this is high school and they baffled me then too. It really buys into that teen idealism and romance that you have in high school, that feeling in the pit of your stomach, the flutter in your chest and the certainty of your undying love. In some respects it is predicable but the general population don't buy a contemporary YA romance if they want the two leads falling into spectacular hate (though that does sound fun).

Colasanti has taken enough chances with some subject matter and the structure to make it more than a cute love story. I also dig pop culture references that work for me and Colasanti had plenty for me to chuckle over or reflective upon wistfully. It's plain old fun. When It Happens an enjoyable read and I will be reading more from this author.

Published: 2008

Format: Paperback, 336 pages

Publisher: Penguin

Source: purchased

Origin: USA

http://www.susanecolasanti.com/

Reading Slumps

I have a confession to make...I haven't finished a book since May 22nd over two weeks ago.

I am officially in the middle of a reading slump.

Since Persnickety Snark has been in existence, I have found myself in this position two times prior. Once was due to sheer reading overload. I had been reading and reviewing a book a day (sometimes two days) for approximately two months to keep my TBR (to be read) pile manageable. I failed at that and then I had an entire month where I couldn't read. I would pick up books and I just couldn't do it. The longer it went on, the more stressed I got and the less I wanted to read. It ended up serving as a wake up call for the way I wanted to blog. I contacted publishers asking to scale back on review copies and refused more authors that contacted me about reading their work. Blogging should be fun.

This time it's not about fun. I am having more fun blogging in a more relaxed way this year than I did last year. I have no idea what is going on.

It has nothing to do with how keen I am to read something. For instance, I received Jennifer Echol's Endless Summer in the mail a couple of days ago. This is a book I was burning to read...I just can't. I have tried. I have only read 50 pages. I am enjoying it but I am simply not in the reading mood.

I am a little worried.

It is part of being a review blogger. Your enthusiasm comes in ebbs and flows. Your reading slump can hit you like a tonne of bricks. You can read non-stop for weeks on end.

My question is...how do I get back on the reading horse?