Review: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Jesse Andrews
Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
Print Edition: 304 pages
Release Date: March 1, 2012
Source: Library

Goodreads | Amazon

Up until senior year, Greg has maintained total social invisibility. He only has one friend, Earl, and together they spend their time—when not playing video games and avoiding Earl’s terrifying brothers— making movies, their own versions of Coppola and Herzog cult classics. Greg would be the first one to tell you his movies are f*@$ing terrible, but he and Earl don’t make them for other people. Until Rachel.

Rachel has leukemia, and Greg’s mom gets the genius idea that Greg should befriend her. Against his better judgment and despite his extreme awkwardness, he does. When Rachel decides to stop treatment, Greg and Earl make her a movie, and Greg must abandon invisibility and make a stand. It’s a hilarious, outrageous, and truthful look at death and high school by a prodigiously talented debut author.

Y’all, when I found this, I thought it might be a little like The Fault in our Stars.  To some extent it was.  What it was not, however, is heartfelt, life-affirming, or serious. 

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is not so much about the dying girl (Rachel) as it is about how being friends with Rachel changes Greg and Earl and their journey through this growth.  It’s irreverent, funny, and so strikingly honest that it will beat you about the head and neck.  It reveals how teens deal with death, and sickness, in a way that you can relate and understand, but also as the same time feels genuine yet tongue-in-cheek. 

Andrews writes Greg in such a self-deprecating way that at times, and there are very few of them, that you want to slap him and say, “Just get on with the story!”  I do like that Greg isn’t taking any of this seriously from beginning to end.  I enjoyed Andrews’ voice, pacing, story-telling.

MEDG is definitely irreverent and almost offensive.  But ultimately, it’s a good read, lots of fun, and, if you like things a little disrespectful, you should check this out.

Review: The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

The Name of the Star

Maureen Johnson

Series: The Shades of London (Book 1)

Print Edition: 384 pages

Publisher: Putnam Juvenile

Release Date: September 29, 2011

Goodreads | Amazon | Audible

The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it's the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago.

Soon “Rippermania” takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn't notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities.

Y’all, I didn’t really know what to expect when I started this.  I did know that my 18yo sister-in-law really enjoyed this book.  And that it had been on my TBR list forever. So I finally downloaded it from Audible.  And I’m so glad I did!

The Name of the Star is all kinds of amazing!  The storytelling, the world building, both the relationship and personal growth.  And obviously the paranormal parts!

I know I’m seriously late to the game on reading this one (it released in2011!), and even though most of you all have read it, I’m going to try hard to keep this spoiler-free…for the small fraction of society that hasn’t read it yet!

Rory is off boarding school in London.  She’s like the fish out of water—grew up in Louisiana, as Southern as they come.  I appreciated that Johnson didn’t overdo Rory, or make her a caricature of a Southern teen—her voice is authentic and honest.  All the characters seem that way, too—genuine.  There wasn’t a single character (except the bad guy) that I didn’t like!  And then, just when I’m pretty comfortable with everyone, Johnson surprises us with Boo…she is so great, mysterious, but great.  And you know something’s up with her.  And the something doesn’t disappoint!

I swear, Johnson is a magician!  She knows exactly when to mix things up!  There’s the thing with Boo and Rory during the dance with a phone and a car and…you just don’t know.  I almost cried!

And then there’s the big event.  And it’s HUGE, and it’s masterfully written.  And it ends on a perfect note.

So, y’all, if you haven’t yet read The Name of the Star, you should.  I will continue the series!

Waiting on Wednesday: Beautiful Curse by Jen McConnel

"Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at “Breaking the Spine”, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

What I'm Waiting On?

Publisher: Swoon Romance
Release Date: December 9, 2014
Goodreads – Amazon
 

Sixteen-year-old Mya Jones is cursed.
She is, hands down, the most beautiful creature on earth. But beauty can wound, and Mya finds herself reviled and shunned by her peers. If there is even a chance that she could start over, Mya longs to take it, no matter the risks.

So when the strange Mr. Merk offers her a new life away from home, Mya is hesitant but hopeful. Only she didn't count on the mysterious Ross, or her feelings for him.

BEAUTIFUL CURSE is a contemporary retelling of the myth of Psyche and Cupid.

 

Why I’m waiting

 

I honestly don’t know much about Beautiful Curse, but I am excited to see what Jen McConnel has done with this myth. I also think the cover is nice! What do you think?

 

Is Beautiful Curse on your to read list?
Can’t wait to see what books you are wanting this week?

Review: The One by Kiera Cass

The One
Kiera Cass
Print Edition: 336 pages
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: May 6, 2014
Source: Library

Goodreads | Amazon

The highly anticipated third book in Kiera Cass's #1 New York Times bestselling Selection series, The One will captivate readers who love dystopian YA fiction and fairy tales. The One is perfect for the fans who have followed America's whirlwind romance since it began—and a swoon-worthy read for teens who have devoured Veronica Roth's Divergent, Ally Condie's Matched, or Lauren Oliver's Delirium.

The Selection changed America Singer's life in ways she never could have imagined. Since she entered the competition to become the next princess of Illéa, America has struggled with her feelings for her first love, Aspen—and her growing attraction to Prince Maxon. Now she's made her choice . . . and she's prepared to fight for the future she wants.

Find out who America will choose in The One, the enchanting, beautifully romantic third book in the Selection series!

Y’all, I reread my review of the first two books (HERE) and I surprised myself…I actually liked them! 

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I actually forced myself to finish The One simply to have finished it.  I didn’t care about what happened to anyone.  I can’t figure out how Cass managed to get a 3-book deal on this—the entire plot line could have fit neatly into one 3-400 page book.

The One moved so incredibly slow that it felt like I was moving backwards most of the time, and when something exciting did take place, it was a brief page or two.  America annoyed me so much.  I couldn’t get over how unbelievably stubborn and idiotic she was—throughout the entire series. 

One of the things I look for in a series, is “Do the characters grow?”  I think everyone had substantial amounts of growth while America grew only slightly.  Also, “Are there holes?”  Cass opened up plotlines that weren’t addressed (i.e. America’s dad was a rebel?!?!  What are the implications of that?  And what about Kriss?).  And, how could Maxon recover so quickly from the loss of his parents?  And what about Celeste?  Did Maxon change the world, were they able to make a difference?  …See, too many unanswered questions. 

I do not agree that this book was enchanting, beautiful, or romantic.

I did, however, like the Epilogue, except for the cheesy last two lines of it. 

Review: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Fangirl
Rainbow Rowell
Print Edition: 448 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; First Edition edition
Release Date: September 10, 2013)
Source: Audible

Goodreads | Amazon | Audible

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan...

But for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.
Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words... And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?

Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?
And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

I’ve been mulling this book over for a few days.  I can’t quite decide how I feel about it.  It’s like I’m having a love-hate relationship with it—along the lines of “I want to love it” but still feeling like I can’t quite give in to those feelings.

Cath is quirky, nerdy, and straight-up weird.  Borderline crazy.  And I didn’t understand why Rowell picked such a neurotic voice to be the main character.  But the more I learned of Cath, the more I began to understand her, feel her pains and anxieties.  I began to really relate to her…and like her character.  She was pretty dumb at points, and there were several, “Oh, I know where Rowell is going with this” points in the plotline, but honestly y’all, I really liked Fangirl. 

I think of all the people in the book, Levi and Regan are my favorites.  I love their dynamic, and how the embraced Cath and her idiosyncrasies and brought her into their club.  I’m glad, though, that they weren’t the main characters…I think that seeing too much of them together might have been a bad thing.

Cath, for all my love for her, annoyed me immensely at times.  I wanted frequently to punch her in her throat and yell at her and tell her to get over herself.  The obsession with Simon Snow was weird—I didn’t understand it at all.  But I do understand that people get obsessed with things.  I think it was the snippets of the “books” that Rowell included—Snow is a selfish, bratty, unlikeable twerp.  Which might have been on purpose.  Ms. Rowell, if you read this, did you write Snow that way to be tongue-in-cheek?  Please, I really do want to know.

All-in-all, Rebecca was right, this was a enjoyable story.  It’s a contemporary, a genre I don’t read often, and even the lack of the magical, paranormal, and mystery, I would recommend this.  To everyone.