French Lit, French Food, French Kisses // Kids Like Us

Title: Kids Like Us

Author: Hilary Reyl

Pages: 288

Date published: November 14, 2017

Martin is an American teen on the autism spectrum living in France with his mom and sister for the summer. He falls for a French girl who he thinks is a real-life incarnation of a character in his favorite book. Over time Martin comes to realize she is a real person and not a character in a novel while at the same time learning that love is not out of his reach just because he is autistic.

If I had to describe Hilary Reyl's YA debut in three words, they would be: intense, unique, and delightful. I read this book based solely on a post from Paper Fury, and I'm so glad that Cait wrote about it, because otherwise I might have missed this utterly wonderful, special, #quietYA of 2017. There are so many things I liked about this book, so let me share a few of them with you:

• The French-ness. At first I was just going to say the French setting, since I do love that it's set near a French castle in a little French town, but so many things about this book are influenced by French culture that I decided to change this bullet point a little bit. I've read books about Americans traveling abroad, but none of them compare to this one in terms of going as in depth in the culture. This is a lot because of the premise of the book and because Martin's father is French, so he comes to the country already knowing a lot about French culture, including the language, literature, and food. I learned so much from Martin's narration, and he really immerses the reader in the culture of the French with his discussion of language and food. There were so many small details that I haven't found in other books about Americans abroad that really made this story come alive, and they all made the setting that much more vivid for me as a reader and I absolutely loved it. And someone get me a madeleine, please!!
• The discussion of literature. Obviously, French literature, particularly Martin's favorite book, Search, as he calls it, by Proust, is a major factor and plot point in this story. I loved seeing how literature, and this book in particular, were how Martin connected to the world. At first, the book Search is just a mirror to him as he falls for who he thinks is the book's heroine, but then it becomes a window that allows him to have deeper interactions with Gilberte/Alice as well as the other people around him.
• The relationships. Every relationship in this book was so nuanced and well-developed, even the one that took place off the page, that between Martin and his father, who is off-page for reasons that are not revealed until later. The way Martin processes interactions with each character is so unique and particular to each person that it makes each relationship a mini-story in itself, like a whole new world with each new character who is introduced. Of course, Martin's relationship with Alice is at the forefront in some ways, because he believes her to be an incarnation of the love interest in the Proust book, but it is also clear that him realizing that she is a real, original person influences his other relationships as well.
• Martin's voice. Martin's voice is probably the most unique writing I've read all year. His voice was very well-written. It was fascinating to be inside his head, and I found the way the story was written to be extremely addicting. I also liked how it certain aspects of his voice were explained throughout the story, making it that much more rich of a read.

All in all, Kids Like Us turned out to be one of my favorite reads of the year. I can't speak to how accurate the autism representation is because I don't have personal experience with it, but I did learn a lot about autism from reading this book. There was also a brief discussion of the neurodiversity movement, which I found very illuminating and interesting. In short though, this book is just amazing. Martin's voice is truly unique, the story is intricate on all levels, and it is not a book I will soon forget and is one I will be recommending to everyone I know. 

Top 4 Worst Books Addition // S. T. A. G. S.

Title: S. T. A. G. S. 

Author: M. A. Bennett

Pages: 304

Date published: January 30, 2018

Seventeen-year-old Greer, a scholarship girl at a prestigious private school, St Aidan the Great School (known as STAGS), soon realizes that the school is full of snobs and spoilt rich brats, many of whom come from aristocratic families who have attended the institute throughout the centuries. She's immediately ignored by her classmates. All the teachers are referred to as Friars (even the female ones), but the real driving force behind the school is a group of prefects known as the Medievals, whose leader, Henry de Warlencourt, Greer finds both strangely intriguing as well as attractive. The Medievals are all good-looking, clever and everyone wants to be among their circle of friends. Greer is therefore surprised when she receives an invitation from Henry to spend a long weekend with him and his friends at his family house in the Lake District, especially when she learns that two other "outsiders" have also been invited: Shafeen and Chanel. As the weekend unfolds, Greer comes to the chilling realization that she and two other "losers" were invited only because they were chosen to become prey in a mad game of manhunt.

When I first started reading S. T. A. G. S., all I knew about it was that it was supposed to be creepy and it was set at a boarding school, which are both easy sells for me. However, I started having my doubts about this book early on, even from the very first paragraph. You know right away that someone dies, because Greer says on page one that she is a murderer. The way the story is told is kind of as though it is a confession, because the telling is clearly being done after the events of the book take place, but there is literally no reason for this and it switches to just being a regularly-told, first-person past-tense novel sometime during either the Huntin' or Fishin' sections; I can't recall which one. The structure is only the first messy thing about this book, unfortunately.

Though I hadn't read the summary, which gives away another major plot point of the book, I quickly figured out that the "loser" of the school, nicknamed STAGS, were not being invited to the Medievals' weekend outing for fun and games. I also had a hard time believing that they would all go to the house of people who had been so mean to them. The reader is told that nobody talks to Greer, the bland main character who has no personality outside of having a bob haircut and an interest in films, for her first semester, but since that part is told and not shown, it is hard to believe she would go to the house, especially when she is warned by another student not to go. The style in which the story is told (and I do mean told; it's like a weird, creepy storytime instead of watching a story unfold naturally) just made a lot of it hard to believe, including that Greer would go to the weekend outing in the first place, as well as the weird romantic subplots.

Goodness, don't even get me STARTED on the romances. I was shocked that Greer was so gullible that she would believe Henry was interested in her when he hadn't spoken to her until the invitation, and it made me dislike her even more, since now, in addition to being excruciatingly boring, she was naive and silly, too. The second romance was slightly more believable, since Greer had had the basest of interactions with this person prior to the weekend of Shootin', Huntin', and Fishin', but it wasn't at all resolved and there was little chemistry because only the love interest had a personality. 

After reading some of this book, I went back on Goodreads to see what kind of reviews it was getting, and, lo and behold, its comp title was one of my top three worst books of all time, WE WERE LIARS by E. Lockhart. The books do have a similar vibe in storytelling, but honestly, this book was even worse than WE WERE LIARS, and that takes a lot for me to say because I really, truly DESPISED that book. As I read, I grew more and more shocked that this book was even being published. If I had seen this during my time as an editorial intern, I would have immediately said no and probably not even bothered finishing the manuscript because the writing was so poor and the story so obvious and predictable, plus it had a terrible message about being an outsider.

Basically, I really, REALLY did not like this book. The writing was juvenile and amateur, and needed a lot more editing work. The protagonist had no personality aside from being extremely gullible, and I didn't care much about any of the other characters either. The twist of the plot made me sick to my stomach and not in a good way. This book was just all around awful and I'm honestly super surprised it is being published at all because the writing is so poor. I have also added it to my list of top worst books of all time, because it was truly that dreadful.

The Stages of Disappointment in the New Book of A Favorite Author: As Told Through a REPLICA Review

I'll admit it: though I say Lauren Oliver is a favorite author, the more I think about it, I have had a somewhat rocky relationship with her books. I like Delirium okay, but wasn't blown away by it. I really fell in love with that series with book two, Pandemonium, and by Requiem, book three, I was a total Lauren Oliver fan. Then, Panic came out, and really the only thing I liked about it was the tigers. I still haven't read Before I Fall, any of the MG books she's written, Rooms, or Vanishing Girls, which I've had on my Kindle since it came out. Still, I loved the Delirium books on the whole so much that I count her as a favorite author.

As you can imagine, I was very excited with she came out with her new series, Replica, last year, but I was in a reading slump for a good portion of that year, so I didn't get around to reading it until last month. Replica has been super hyped because of its format: it's dual POV, but you can read it in a variety of ways. You can read Lyra's story first, then Gemma's, or Gemma's, then Lyra's, or alternate chapters and flip the book upside down every other chapter. It's about clones, basically, and the idea is that different things get revealed through the two stories.

Let me tell you, the format was not all that unique, because you could do that with literally any dual POV book if you really wanted. The POV gimmick was pretty much the only cool thing about this book, because it was depressing AF.

But anyway, onto the stages of reading a disappointing book by a favorite author, as told through my thoughts about Replica:

- Pre-reading: OMG, what if this isn't as good as XYZ previous book
- also pre-reading: OMG, new book by XYZ author, can't wait
- while reading: surprise, I actually like both POVs and don't like one more than the other
- actually, I don't like one more than the other because neither is very interesting
- the writing is very simplistic and juvenile compared to her other books, but she's a favorite, so maybe it will get better
- writing does not get better
- story gets really depressing, consider DNFing
- but wait, it's a favorite author, so I have to give it a chance
- almost done with the book, still debating DNFing, but okay, now I'm almost done and have to finish it
- upon finishing: I kind of want to know what happens, but do I really want to go through a mediocre book again?
- But it's Lauren Oliver, so maybe Ringer will be better
- plus I have it as an eARC, so I don't necessarily have to buy it
- but it's really depressing
- but I also kind of want to know what happens
-but it's not very good
- but it's Lauren Oliver
- but but but...

That was basically the thought process I had while reading this book. Overall though, it did not deserve the hype and the gimmick was not that great, in reality. If I did end up reading the sequel, I'd probably try reading it in another format, so I'd just read the story straight through and read them separately. But who knows; maybe I won't read it because it was just very depressing, mediocre, and simplistic in writing in a way that did not make me want to read more.

But we'll see. Maybe I'll read it just because I have the eARC, and it'll probably be quick. Hopefully. Maybe. We'll see. As you can tell, I am having much conflict about this book.

Bisexual Romps, Pirates, and Manhunts // The Gentleman's Guide To Vice & Virtue

Title: The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue

Author: Mackenzie Lee

Date published: June 27, 2017

Pages: 513

Henry “Monty” Montague was born and bred to be a gentleman, but he was never one to be tamed. The finest boarding schools in England and the constant disapproval of his father haven’t been able to curb any of his roguish passions—not for gambling halls, late nights spent with a bottle of spirits, or waking up in the arms of women or men.
But as Monty embarks on his Grand Tour of Europe, his quest for a life filled with pleasure and vice is in danger of coming to an end. Not only does his father expect him to take over the family’s estate upon his return, but Monty is also nursing an impossible crush on his best friend and traveling companion, Percy.
Still it isn’t in Monty’s nature to give up. Even with his younger sister, Felicity, in tow, he vows to make this yearlong escapade one last hedonistic hurrah and flirt with Percy from Paris to Rome. But when one of Monty’s reckless decisions turns their trip abroad into a harrowing manhunt that spans across Europe, it calls into question everything he knows, including his relationship with the boy he adores.

This book was so delightful. I'd seen it hyped up by nearly everyone who's anyone in the YA community, and I can happily say that this book lived up to, and even exceeded, its hype. This is honestly probably the most unique book I've read in a while, and definitely the most unique historical fiction novel I've ever read, so it deserves all the hype, all the stars, all the love.

Here is a small sampling of all of the amazing things you will find between the pages of this remarkable, wonderful book:

• Diversity. OMG, a historical fiction novel where not everyone is white and straight? Be still my fluttering heart. Even better, a bisexual MC? Be still my fluttering, bisexual queer heart! Monty is a roguishly sassy MC with a crush on his best friend, who is black, which is also something we never see in historical novels, despite the fact that people of color existed in history, and not just as slaves or servants, which is generally the narrative the mainstream forces upon us. This book dealt really well with racial issues, and even had a few moments where Monty himself slipped up, but even then, the book addressed those quite well. Percy is also diverse in other ways that I won't explicitly state because SPOILERS, and those were explored in an interesting way also and brought up a lot of interesting questions and points of view about the lives we value and what makes life have value.
• Sass. Goodness, this is by far the sassiest book I've read this year, and again, for sure the sassiest historical fiction novel. For a lot of the book, Monty is a fresh arsehole, but all of his dialogue is purely delightful and hilarious to read. His sassiness will make you laugh and cringe for him, and the banter between him and Percy (WE HATE RICHARD PEELE!!) is also wonderful to behold.
• Character growth. As just noted, Monty is often a total butthole. However, he is a multidimensional character who is very complex and grows throughout the story. He grows through hardships, his friendship with Percy, and even HAVING HIS PRIVILEGE CHALLENGED, which is not shown nearly enough in YA. 
• Adventure. To be fair, I did not read the entire Goodreads summary before I read this, so I did not know about the manhunt aspect until it happened in the book. So, I was quite surprised by many happenings in the book, which does not happen for me very often while reading YA anymore, probably just because I've read so much of it. There were lots of fun twists and turns that made the 500+ pages go by quickly, which is definitely a feat worth noting since I do not usually gravitate toward large books because I just don't have the time, or at least feel like I don't. 
• Venice!!!! It has been a dream of mine since childhood to visit Venice, so to see it featured prominently in the story was very exciting and nostalgia-making for me. In fact, I loved all the settings in this book, and found them very vivid and well-written. Venice, however, was for sure the favorite, other than Barcelona, where I have actually had the pleasure of traveling to. 

Basically, if you have been like me and been putting this book off because either you don't normally go for historical fic or because of the page count, GO FORTH AND READ!! This book is so wonderful, delightful, and full of joy. I promise it will be unlike anything you've read, and it will go by so fast you'll wish there were even MORE pages. 

Worst Book Hangover Ever // This Darkness Mine

Title: This Darkness Mine

Author: Mindy McGinnis

Publishing date: October 10, 2017

Pages: 352

Sasha Stone knows her place—first-chair clarinet, top of her class, and at the side of her oxford-wearing boyfriend. She’s worked her entire life to ensure that her path to Oberlin Conservatory as a star musician is perfectly paved. 

But suddenly there’s a fork in the road, in the shape of Isaac Harver. Her body shifts toward him when he walks by, her skin misses his touch even though she’s never known it, and she relishes the smell of him—smoke, beer, and trouble—all the things she’s avoided to get where she is. Even worse, every time he’s near Sasha, her heart stops, literally. Why does he know her so well—too well—and she doesn’t know him at all? 

Sasha discovers that her by-the-book life began by ending another’s: the twin sister she absorbed in the womb. But that doesn’t explain the gaps of missing time in her practice schedule or the memories she has of things she certainly never did with Isaac. As Sasha loses her much-cherished control, her life—and heart—become more entangled with Isaac. Armed with the knowledge that her heart might not be hers alone, Sasha must decide what she’s willing to do—and who she’s willing to hurt—to take it back.

Most of the time, when book bloggers finish a book, they write a review, either preceding or followed by throwing the book at the wall, crying, hugging it, or whatever reaction seems most appropriate given how and how much an author crushed their feels. After reading this book though, I have the most uncomfortable bookish hangover and still have no idea how to form coherent thoughts about it. So, here are some of my incoherent, out of order, messy thoughts about This Darkness Mine:

• That poor boy is going to be scarred for life and never date again and probably join a monastery to escape real life because no therapist is as good as the therapist he will need
• Sasha Stone is actually a terrible person
• But also kind of badass
• This is like a psychological thriller about perfectionism and makes me worry about being a perfectionist and trying to be perfect for everyone all the time
• This book actually made me feel sick to my stomach a bit
• There are some weird consent issues that make me very uncomfortable
• I couldn't put this book down while I was reading it and was excited to pick it up every time I had a moment to read even though it was seriously messed up
• This is actually the most messed up YA book I have ever read. Congrats, Mindy McGinnis. You have done the thing.
• These are terrible parents who really do not have their priorities in order
• Her dad is awful 
• Why in the ARC is Isaac Brooke's brother for the first three chapters and then seems like they're not related for the rest of the book? Did anyone else notice this?
• I needed a little more from the Isaac relationship in order to understand it but there were only a couple times when Sasha remembered what happened with him, so their relationship felt a little out of place even though I kind of shipped it
• This book made me so upset and disturbed
• But I also liked it
• But also problematic because of consent issues
• But also good
• I am going to stop now  

Should you read this book? Yes. Should you recommend it to teens? Maybe, if you want them to throw up in their mouths a little bit and scare the bejeezus out of them. (Basically yes). Will this book screw you up majorly? Heck yes. Is it worth it? Probably. 

Is this a rant or a review // okay it's a rant // they both die at the end

Title: They Both Die at the End 

Author: Adam Silvera

Publication date: September 5, 2017

Pages: 384

The scoop: This book is basically about a world where you get a phone call from a company called Death Cast on the day you're going to die. Mateo and Rufus are both teenagers who get the call on the same day, and meet up via an app called Last Friend that connects people on their final day. 

My thoughts: I already wrote about how I feel about Adam Silvera this week, but I'm still so mad at this book. I really was not a fan. I felt like the story only existed because Silvera wanted to build this world, but even the world-building didn't require much other than explaining what people do on their End Days now that the whole world gets to know when they're going to die. It's not even a very original storyline; there are plenty of books about teens who either know when they're going to die or can predict when other people are going to die.

All of the emotional investment in the book also relied on the concept of these two characters both being destined to die. However, even with that, I didn't really care much about either character. Neither Rufus nor Mateo were very well-developed, though out of the two Rufus was definitely more interesting with more layers. Mateo was sort of the opposite of Rufus, but that meant that he was very bland. He spends most of the book trying to convince himself to take risks on his last day alive because he's never taken risks before.

I also didn't like the third-person chapters from other characters. For the most part, they weren't even about characters connected to the main story, and the chapters that were from the POV of the story's secondary characters gave too much away too soon. On the note of pacing, Adam Silvera once again did his thing where he puts most of the action at the last 15% or so of the book, which, this time, was the romance. I knew there would probably be some romance because it's Adam Silvera and it's YA, but I really didn't buy it. They're just so different and only have this "deep" connection because they're both dying on the same day. They really didn't have much in common or have much chemistry, and the romance was inherently insta-lovey, which automatically turned me off.

Basically, I just found this story from the plot to the characters to be really bland. The pacing was off, and the world-building wasn't really that unique. Despite that, I do think a lot of contemporary teens would be very into this book, so I'll still probably recommend that my library buys it. I think this is largely a case of me having read a lot of YA and thus not finding it very unique, and also the author relying too heavily on the main concept of the world to make the story emotional, and it ended up feeling fake and forced.

I know I'm a black sheep where this book is concerned because the rest of the YA world is obsessed with it, but it simply wasn't for me. I was not impressed, yet again, by Adam Silvera, and I don't think I'll be giving him another chance after this one. 

WTF Is This // Wicked Like a Wildfire

Title: Wicked Like a Wildfire

Author: Lana Popovic

Pages: 400

Publication date: August 15, 2017

All the women in Iris and Malina’s family have the unique magical ability or “gleam” to manipulate beauty. Iris sees flowers as fractals and turns her kaleidoscope visions into glasswork, while Malina interprets moods as music. But their mother has strict rules to keep their gifts a secret, even in their secluded sea-side town. Iris and Malina are not allowed to share their magic with anyone, and above all, they are forbidden from falling in love.  

But when their mother is mysteriously attacked, the sisters will have to unearth the truth behind the quiet lives their mother has built for them. They will discover a wicked curse that haunts their family line—but will they find that the very magic that bonds them together is destined to tear them apart forever?

This book...wtf. What is this book? What happened in this book? Why is this book? What does seeing things in fractals and making other people see things in fractals even mean? Why is doing this important? These are just some of the questions that plagued me throughout the reading of this bizarre book, but they are just the tip of my confusion iceberg. I didn't understand what was going on for most of it, but by the end I'm pretty sure my entire thought process was just "WTF" over and over again.

I wasn't sure if I was even going to read this all the way through. At first, I thought the writing was pretty but didn't love the story, but stuck with it for the sake of flowery words. However, by the middle of the book, even the writing style started to annoy me. It was just too pretty with not must substance and it was trying way too hard. I also didn't feel like it was very YA either, since it was much too formal in a weird way.

The writing also didn't match the protagonist, Iris, as a character. Iris was always characterized as the rough and tumble sort of twin and Malina was the pretty delicate twin, so it didn't make sense to me that the voice was so formal and flowery. The writing was flowery and sweet to the point that reading it practically made me nauseous because it was trying so hard to be lyrical or whatever. In addition to that, I felt like the characterizations were weak as well. They were just very simplistic, and even though the relationships between the characters were supposed to be complex, I just found them very predictable and flat.

Wicked Like a Wildfire is a book I really should have DNFed, but I was halfway through it by the time I realized that. It was very superficial in a weird way, with the pretty writing on the outside but confusingness and simplicity on the inside. Basically, don't let the cover or the pretty writing at the beginning fool you: this book is not worth it.

Diabolical Lesbians and Evil Spirits // As I Descended

Title: As I Descended

Author: Robin Talley

Pages: 370

Publication date: October 6, 2016

Maria Lyon and Lily Boiten are their school’s ultimate power couple—even if no one knows it but them. 

Only one thing stands between them and their perfect future: campus superstar Delilah Dufrey. 

Golden child Delilah is a legend at the exclusive Acheron Academy, and the presumptive winner of the distinguished Cawdor Kingsley Prize. She runs the school, and if she chose, she could blow up Maria and Lily’s whole world with a pointed look, or a carefully placed word. 

But what Delilah doesn’t know is that Lily and Maria are willing to do anything—absolutely anything—to make their dreams come true. And the first step is unseating Delilah for the Kingsley Prize. The full scholarship, awarded to Maria, will lock in her attendance at Stanford―and four more years in a shared dorm room with Lily. 

Maria and Lily will stop at nothing to ensure their victory—including harnessing the dark power long rumored to be present on the former plantation that houses their school.
But when feuds turn to fatalities, and madness begins to blur the distinction between what’s real and what is imagined, the girls must decide where they draw the line.

To start out this review, I'm going to give you a run down of all the types of lesbians you will find in this book:

• closeted lesbians
• creeped out but skeptical lesbians
• lesbians who can talk to spirits
• diabolical lesbians
• regretful lesbians
• highly concerned lesbians
• super terrified lesbians
• pretty darn crazy lesbians

To be fair, these lesbians are all the same two lesbians, namely Maria and Lily. This book is obviously super intense, and goes all over the place in the drama department. It's a Macbeth retelling, too, so it's super dark and creepy as well. It's atmospheric and you can feel the fog of bad things coming on every page.

The setting is perfect for the story. First of all, I'm a total sucker for boarding school stories. and a haunted boarding school? Don't even get me started. I loved getting to know the dark history behind the school and thought it was woven into the story very well. Acheron wasn't just there for the sake of making the story more appealing, it was really it's own character.

Though I loved the setting, the retelling aspect, the diversity (including disability rep!), and the strong writing, I did find myself wanting a little more in terms of character goals and the relationship between Lily and Maria. It seemed like they lost sight of their goals pretty quickly after the first bad thing that happens (trying not to spoil so I'm being vague), and then we don't get to see much of their relationship either. Maybe the way it was played out was realistic, but I wanted them to be even more diabolical and focused on their goals.

Despite those little quibbles, I still loved this book and highly, highly recommend it. I can't believe I've waited this long to read something by Robin Talley, and I don't anticipate this being the last book I read by her. If you're looking for something with a lot of diversity with a heavy dose of creepiness and have a love of Macbeth, definitely check this one out.

The Universe of False Rhymes and Cheese // The Universe of Us

Title: The Universe of Us

Author: Lang Leav

Publication date: October 4, 2016

Pages: 240

Genre: Poetry

I wasn't sure what to expect from my first Lang Leav experience, since I discovered her through an article about "instagram poets" like her and the better-known Rupi Kaur. The article brought up the question of whether what its author dubbed "instagram poets" were actually good, and after both following and reading Lang Leav's poetry, I can honestly kind of see why. 

I'm by no means a poetry expert though I've both studied and enjoyed it in the past, but I did find that many of the pieces of prose and poetry had very weak structures that were hard to follow. A lot of the prose pieces felt like being dunked into the middle of a prose piece, and I often found myself feeling a bit lost as I was reading them. A lot of the prose was also very cheesy and overly romantic, and it seemed like Lang Leav was trying a bit too hard to be romantic and poetic.

I also hated the majority of the rhyming poetry. Those also didn't seem to have much structure that could be followed, and she used far too many false rhymes that didn't really work for my tastes. Again, a lot of the rhyming poems, like the prose, didn't feel like complete pieces to me, but instead like the middle of something. The poems and prose also had no connectivity that I could see other than the themes of romance and love. I ended up feeling like I was reading the same thing over and over again, and to be honest, none of her poems or prose pieces particularly stuck out to me. There were no pieces I wanted to mark so I could come back to, because it all just blended together into a puddle of romantic goo.

The last 50 pages or so were somewhat better, and made me wonder if she had other poetry and prose more like that than the first 150 pages. Overall though, her words didn't make much of an impression on me. Still, I would be curious to see how she would incorporate her writing style into a novel, and might actually give her first novel, Sad Girls, a try.

What's my next poetry adventure? salt. by Nayyirah Waheed.