Tag: book review

Reviews, ya contemporary

Book Review: Ugly People, Beautiful Hearts by Marlen Komar

Veronica Porras (TTB)

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Title: Ugly People Beautiful Hearts
Short Summary: Ugly People Beautiful Hearts is a poetry book with over 70 poems and verses moving between the feelings of loving someone, feeling loss, trusting the night sky, losing your light, resolving that hurt is beautiful, and finding compassion in a stranger’s smile.
Genre: Poetry
Pages: 96
Audience: 16+
 
Website with poem samples: http://mar-komar.tumblr.com/

Review:

I know I normally don’t review poetry books here, but Marlen kindly reached out to me and after reading a poem of hers I said… why not?!

This poetry book still fits in the YA genre because it is for 16+ or older, but it does have some themes that I wouldn’t want someone very young to read them. I almost feel like… it wouldn’t have the same impact as someone who is a bit older. Anyways I am straying away from the review.

The entire time I was reading Ugly People Beautiful Hearts, I felt like I was on a journey, I was given entrance into someones mind and innermost thoughts and feelings which in turn made me feel vulnerable. Some of the best writing comes from pain and I think Marlen truly captured the intense emotions we feel throughout life in her poems, her work. There were some poems that I understood, while some made me feel melancholy and just sad. I wanted to shake the voice and tell them to stop acting so stupidly at times. Each poem was like a journey in itself and I couldn’t stop reading it until I’d reached the end.

Below is one of my favorite poems… What We’re Leading Up To

“And you pointed at the thick field of stars and asked, “Lie here with me?” My skin is translucent; the spots where your finger tips trace lighting up like the verses in the sky. And I’ve had my heart broken in so many interesting ways, but this way, oh by far, has been my favorite.”

There is just something about this poem that I love. I can’t explain it.

Thank you Marlen for being kind and sharing with the world your poems. You’ve poured out your soul for everyone to see. That takes a lot of courage. Congratulations!

Rating: 4 out of 5

About The Author:

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Marlen Komar

Writer/ Poet, Ugly People Beautiful Hearts
   
 Disclaimer: Thank you Marlen Komar for giving me the opportunity to read this book for free in exchange for an honest review. Receiving this book for free does not sway my opinion.
Special Review, YA Mystery

Book Review: HIT by Delilah S. Dawson (Spoiler-Free Review)

Veronica Porras (TTB)

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Goodreads Summary:

NO ONE READS THE FINE PRINT.

The good news is that the USA is finally out of debt. The bad news is that we were bought out by Valor National Bank, and debtors are the new big game, thanks to a tricky little clause hidden deep in the fine print of a credit card application. Now, after a swift and silent takeover that leaves 9-1-1 calls going through to Valor voicemail, they’re unleashing a wave of anarchy across the country.

Patsy didn’t have much of a choice. When the suits showed up at her house threatening to kill her mother then and there for outstanding debt unless Patsy agreed to be an indentured assassin, what was she supposed to do? Let her own mother die?

Patsy is forced to take on a five-day mission to complete a hit list of ten names. Each name on Patsy’s list has only three choices: pay the debt on the spot, agree to work as a bounty hunter, or die. And Patsy has to kill them personally, or else her mom takes a bullet of her own.

Since yarn bombing is the only rebellion in Patsy’s past, she’s horrified and overwhelmed, especially as she realizes that most of the ten people on her list aren’t strangers. Things get even more complicated when a moment of mercy lands her with a sidekick: a hot rich kid named Wyatt whose brother is the last name on Patsy’s list. The two share an intense chemistry even as every tick of the clock draws them closer to an impossible choice.

Delilah S. Dawson offers an absorbing, frightening glimpse at a reality just steps away from ours—a taut, suspenseful thriller that absolutely mesmerizes from start to finish.

Review:

WOW.

First, I want to thank Simon and Schuster-Simon Pulse for being so kind and sending me this ARC without me even asking for it. You guys are awesome. It’s like you know me already.

Okay, onto the book now…

HIT is exactly what I craving and I didn’t even know it. Everyone knows I’m a sucker for the spy/con-artist/conspiracy stuff, but this is entirely different, yet it still fits in the Spy/Conspiracy genre… sort of. It’s weird. You can also say it’s dystopian, but it doesn’t exactly fit into that genre either. The girl is forced to turn into a bounty hunter, but in reality she is an assassin, although she is not a trained one. It’s very weird because you can’t say “It belongs in this genre”, but I like it.

While HIT has its angst and romance, what it truly focuses on is the American spending culture present day. Almost everyone in the United States has a credit card. Our nation runs on the credit system, and I believe that most people would be screwed overnight if the credit system disappeared, or if the United States went bankrupt. HIT punches you in the gut and makes you realize just how bad our economy is. I myself have credit cards like many Americans and if the credit card companies would tell us pay up or die… Gosh… that’s just scary. HIT really makes you see just how much of a crutch the credit system is to our country and to our lives.

Overall, I really liked how HIT was set up. It was a solid first book in a series and I can’t wait to read Strike the second book in the series. I feel like there is more to Wyatt than meets the eye and we will see him fully emerge in the next book, and I am so freaking excited!

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Disclaimer: Thank you Simon & Schuster for giving me the opportunity to read this book for free in exchange for an honest review. Receiving this book for free does not sway my opinion.

Reviews, ya contemporary

Book Review: Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson

Veronica Porras (TTB)

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Goodreads Summary:

he Pre-Sloane Emily didn’t go to parties, she barely talked to guys, she didn’t do anything crazy. Enter Sloane, social tornado and the best kind of best friend—the one who yanks you out of your shell.

But right before what should have been an epic summer, Sloane just… disappears. No note. No calls. No texts. No Sloane. There’s just a random to-do list. On it, thirteen Sloane-selected-definitely-bizarre-tasks that Emily would never try… unless they could lead back to her best friend.

Apple Picking at Night? Okay, easy enough.

Dance until Dawn? Sure. Why not?

Kiss a Stranger? Um…

Getting through Sloane’s list would mean a lot of firsts. But Emily has this whole unexpected summer ahead of her, and the help of Frank Porter (totally unexpected) to check things off. Who knows what she’ll find?

Go Skinny Dipping? Wait … what?

Review:

Wow. I really did not expect to like this book. You might be thinking… Veronica what did you just say?! and I am rather surprised myself that I had those thoughts too. I am one of those people that LOVES Morgan Matson books. I tell people I don’t even know at the bookstore that they have to read one of her books. The thing is that when SYBG was released, I wasn’t too thrilled. Don’t get me wrong, I was excited, but the synopsis didn’t grab me. Kayla bought me the book because she is awesome and I started reading it and… it fell flat. I couldn’t get into it. It was boring. (Yes I know I committed blasphemy by saying that but keep reading please)

10 months later, I decide to give SYBG another chance because I HAVE to. I was at a different point in my life then and maybe my perceptive now will change since I am at a different stage in life. I decide to “read” the book a different way this time too. Once I received my credit on Audible, I choose to spend that credit on SYBG and listen to it on my commute to and from work. Let me jus tell you the wonders a good audiobook does to your overall experience of a book, it gave Emily a voice that I couldn’t have given her in my mind. I got so into the story that I regretted packing all of my books already, and not leaving SYBG out. As I was wallowing because I could only hear SYBG and not read it too, Ms. Matson tweeted that the kindle version of SYBG was on sale for 1.99. I snatched that baby up in no time and started reading it. A month of car rides and reading SYBG at night when I could muster enough energy to stay awake for 20 more minutes, I finished it and it ended up being exactly what I needed.

Emily is a very relatable character. I think my 17 year old self would have connected with Emily more, but nonetheless, I did too at 24. In February I started a new job and I had to be the new girl all over again and It’s easy to be the shadow of a new friend. I’ve done that my entire life, but an important lesson I’ve learned is that you need to have an identity all on your own and be proud of that identity. I came into my new job with this mentality and it has worked. I am my own person and I can also be somebody’s good friend without being their shadow.

This review is more of my journey and not information itself of the book because that is exactly how the book is. I recommend you read it at some point in your life. You may not be ready for it now (or you might be), but you will be ready for it at some point and it will leave you feeling good and content with life.

Before I close, let’s not forget about Frank. I’m not a fan of the name Frank, but this character has even made me like the name. He is the sweetest, most loyal, human character I’ve read in contemporary YA in a long time. Don’t get me wrong I am still in love with Isaiah from Crash Into You (that boy will be the death of me), but there is something so real and raw about Frank that I have to say Ms. Matson did a darn good job with her characters in SYBG.

Rating: 5 out of freaking 5

Reviews, Special Review, ya contemporary

Book Review: The Truth About Us by Janet Gurtler

Veronica Porras (TTB)

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Goodreads Summary:

The truth is that Jess knows she screwed up.
She’s made mistakes, betrayed her best friend, and now she’s paying for it. Her dad is making her spend the whole summer volunteering at the local soup kitchen.

The truth is she wishes she was the care-free party-girl everyone thinks she is.
She pretends it’s all fine. That her “perfect” family is fine. But it’s not. And no one notices the lie…until she meets Flynn. He’s the only one who really sees her. The only one who listens.

The truth is that Jess is falling apart – and no one seems to care.
But Flynn is the definition of “the wrong side of the tracks.” When Jess’s parents look at him they only see the differences-not how much they need each other. They don’t get that the person who shouldn’t fit in your world… might just be the one to make you feel like you belong.

Review:

There is something about Janet Gurtler novels that just makes me binge read them. I stayed up late reading this one several nights in a row (even though I had to work early in the AM). I read #16ThingsIThoughtWereTrue a few months ago and I LOVED it. I apparently loved it so much that I went over to Kayla’s house and said READ IT. I don’t remember this, but she has it and she says it happened, so it probably did. Especially since she has my book.

I was really intrigued when I saw the synopsis of this novel. We have a boy who comes from under the poverty line, and then we have the girl who is rich. We never see the rich girl, it is always the rich boy helping out the poor girl (except in Crash Into You by Katie McGarry, but that’s a whole other story there…).

I really wanted to see how Ms. Janet would portray those who are below the poverty level, and I wanted to see if they would be accurately represented.

Throughout the novel, the issue of poverty is present and it is somewhat explored, but not enough. We barely get a glimpse of it. Yes, we have the soup kitchen, and yes we have that brief moment in Flynn’s house, but poverty isn’t described well enough for me. I do have to keep in mind though that Ms. Gurtler is from Canada and I live in the USA, so poverty will look a bit different in both countries. What I did like was Jess’ attitude towards Flynn on the whole not having money front. She didn’t discriminate, but I loved that Ms. Janet did show that Jess felt uncomfortable at times being in a place where poverty is so real. I hate it when a rich character goes into a poor area and is like, “Cool yo, no shame, I’m cool. It’s all cool.” NO IT ISN’T. That is not a normal reaction. Not believable at all.

Switching over to some less serious stuff… Really Flynn?! You were so cute and adorable until the end. I loved you. I believed in you and you crushed my heart. I forgive you, but I cannot love you as much as I did at the beginning. That ending just… ugh I’m not cool with it bro.

Overall, The Truth About Us is another great book under Janet’s belt. I enjoyed reading it immensely. I know I didn’t talk much about that, but The Truth About Us raises some very important issues and that is why I requested it on NetGalley, not because I wanted a fluffy read.

Rating: 4.50 out of 5

Disclaimer: Thank you Sourcebooks Fire and  NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book for free in exchange for an honest review. Receiving this book for free does not sway my opinion.

Contemporary Conversations, Reviews, YA Mystery

ContempConvos: All Fall Down by Ally Carter

Veronica Porras (TTB)

All Fall Down

introduction:

Did any of you guess this was the book I would be reviewing? If you guessed All Fall Down, click the rafflecopter link and get your extra giveaway entry! a Rafflecopter giveaway

I saved this book specifically for this week. I bought the book right after it was published in January and I was even approved by Scholastic and given an arc before that. But I saved it for this week because it would have been a tragedy if Ms. Ally Carter did not make an appearance during the Spy/Conspiracy/Drama week of Contemporary Conversations. She is so dedicated to this genre and I am so thankful for that. Let’s proceed with my review. I hope you enjoy it.

Goodreads Summary:

A new series of global proportions — from master of intrigue, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Ally Carter.

This exciting new series from NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Ally Carter focuses on Grace, who can best be described as a daredevil, an Army brat, and a rebel. She is also the only granddaughter of perhaps the most powerful ambassador in the world, and Grace has spent every summer of her childhood running across the roofs of Embassy Row.

Now, at age sixteen, she’s come back to stay–in order to solve the mystery of her mother’s death. In the process, she uncovers an international conspiracy of unsettling proportions, and must choose her friends and watch her foes carefully if she and the world are to be saved.

Review:

I just finished read this and I am speechless. I did not see that ending coming. I am still reeling with that ending. I am shocked. Like people like to say I CAN’T EVEN.

The title All Fall Down finally makes sense. Falling means many different things in this book, but it is Grace’s fall that we focus on the most. We see Grace’s entire journey and we slowly see her start getting madder and madder until she breaks… she falls.

The only thing that was a little weak for me in the story was Noah as a character. He felt… lacking. Something wasn’t there for me. It could be that I missed something because I was devouring this book, but he is the reason why I can’t give it 5 stars. I felt his character a little two-dimensional. This is the first book in a series, so I hope we get to see more of him and he can turn into a character that I love.

One of the reasons why I am such an Ally Carter fan is because she can turn things I would normally see as boring, intriguing. I will never see ambassadors and their children the same again. I also have a higher respect for them. Their job is so important and it is something that day-to-day we don’t even think about. Her books always make me think.

Also, there is NO ROMANCE. None. Zilch. Nada. That is so refreshing. I can’t rave enough to give this book justice.

If you want to get into the world of spies, government agents, and conspiracies, Ally carter is the author for you. Pick this story up. Trust me, you won’t be bored.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Disclaimer: Thank you Scholastic for giving me the opportunity to read this book for free in exchange for an honest review. Receiving this book for free does not sway my opinion. (I bought a copy of the book once it was released)

Contemporary Conversations, Reviews, Special Review, YA Mystery

ContempConvos: I Am The Weapon by Allen Madoff

Veronica Porras (TTB)

i-am-the-weapon-allen-zadoff1

Goodreads Summary:

They needed the perfect assassin.

Boy Nobody is the perennial new kid in school, the one few notice and nobody thinks much about. He shows up in a new high school in a new town under a new name, makes a few friends, and doesn’t stay long. Just long enough for someone in his new friend’s family to die-of “natural causes.” Mission accomplished, Boy Nobody disappears, moving on to the next target.

But when he’s assigned to the mayor of New York City, things change. The daughter is unlike anyone he has encountered before; the mayor reminds him of his father. And when memories and questions surface, his handlers at The Program are watching. Because somewhere deep inside, Boy Nobody is somebody: the kid he once was; the teen who wants normal things, like a real home and parents; a young man who wants out. And who just might want those things badly enough to sabotage The Program’s mission.

In this action-packed series debut, author Allen Zadoff pens a page-turning thriller that is as thought-provoking as it is gripping, introducing an utterly original and unforgettable antihero.

Review:

O.M.G. I was not expecting this book to end how it did. Or to start how it did. I did not expect anything at all. And speaking honestly here, it was a breath of fresh air! I honestly felt like I was reading a script of a crime/covert operations type of show.

Zach Abram is Mr. Nobody. No one sees him arrive into their lives and no one notices when he leaves. I want to say he is like a shadow, but shadows leave something behind (if someone knows here to look) and he doesn’t. I really liked the way his back story was revealed in snippets through the entire book. It created this mysterious aura that helped form his character.

There was something that I loved about this book. Normally when an assassin or trained operative comes into play, no one sees him, he leaves nothing behind, but in this book the trained operative makes a mistake! He assumes that the family of the target does not know how to recognize people like him. He has all this training yet it fails him for a good portion of the book and it is through those mistakes that we learn that even the coldest person has feelings. The main character in a way is the anti-hero of his own story.

Gosh this was such a good book that I really don’t want to spoil it for anyone. If you are a fan of Jennifer Lynn Barns and/or Ally Carter,  I think you’ll like this book. It does have some flaws, but overall it is a good novel. It felt wholesome and the world was well established. I may have to get the second book because that ending… so did not see it coming! EEEKKKKKK!

Rating: 4 out of 5

Disclaimer: Thank you Little, Brown Books and  NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book for free in exchange for an honest review. Receiving this book for free does not sway my opinion.

Key word: Falling

Contemporary Conversations

ContempConvos: Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover

Veronica Porras (TTB)

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Introduction:

Yes, I have reviewed this book before. If you want to read my original review click here. I almost didn’t re-read it because Kayla reviewed it for Disabilities week, but then I said the heck with it! I want to review it for reread week because I want to reread it. So here I go!

Goodreads Summary:

At twenty-two years old, Sydney is enjoying a great life: She’s in college, working a steady job, in love with her wonderful boyfriend, Hunter, and rooming with her best friend, Tori. But everything changes when she discovers that Hunter is cheating on her—and she’s forced to decide what her next move should be.

Soon, Sydney finds herself captivated by her mysterious and attractive neighbor, Ridge. She can’t take her eyes off him or stop listening to the passionate way he plays his guitar every evening out on his balcony. And there’s something about Sydney that Ridge can’t ignore, either. They soon find themselves needing each other in more ways than one.

Review:

Dear Lord have mercy on my soul, heart, everything. This book destroyed me and built me up. I texted both Anjie and Kayla right after I finished it… Guys I’m floating…

I seemed to have picked the perfect books to reread because both ORS and now Maybe Someday seemed to be better than I remembered them to be. Maybe Someday is perfection. I know not everyone likes the story because they have an issue with a certain part of it, but I just think that the journey makes it okay.

The characters are so honest and raw that it feels as if I know these characters personally. That I am their friend and I am first-hand seeing them go through all of this chaos. My heart broke, clenched, sped up, and beat along with Sydney and Ridge.

I can’t get over my fangirling right now. I want this review to be comprehendible, but I think I will just unleash the fangirl I can’t seem to hold back. *cracks knuckles*

Just like ORS, I love that this centers around music as well. Like I said before, sucker for music influenced books, and a sucker for musicians. It can’t get any better than this.

Is it horrible of me to say that I kind of aspire to be Sydney, not what happens to her of course, but the qualities she possesses, she is so selfless… it’s amazing!

Ridge and Sydney (about 95% of the time) handled everything with such maturity that I only wish if I was ever in any type of difficult situation I would be as mature as them.

I first read this book when I was younger than the characters and I saw them all grown up and independent, but this time around, I’m older than the characters and I was not only able to relate to them, but I also felt older. Crazy really. I’m probably a little more sensitive to age right now because I turned 24 two weeks ago.

My concluding thoughts are these. I am so happy I reread Maybe Someday. It makes me happy and warms me on the inside. Rereading is the best!

Rating: 5 out of 5

Contemporary Conversations

ContempConvos: Open Road Summer by Emery Lord

Veronica Porras (TTB)

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Introduction:

Open Road Summer is the perfect book to start off my rereads week. I remember finding it so freaking adorable the first time around. Two Sundays ago, Kayla and I did my birthday dinner thing and as part two of my birthday celebration evening, we spent over an hour at Barnes and Nobles because what is a Birthday Celebration without a trip to the bookstore? I was set on getting my own copy of this book since I had borrowed Kayla’s copy originally. I hadn’t planned on rereading Open Road Summer for this week, but in the end, it felt like the right decision after I bought it and oh boy it was!

Goodreads Summary:

After breaking up with her bad-news boyfriend, Reagan O’Neill is ready to leave her rebellious ways behind…and her best friend, country superstar Lilah Montgomery, is nursing a broken heart of her own. Fortunately, Lilah’s 24-city tour is about to kick off, offering a perfect opportunity for a girls-only summer of break-up ballads and healing hearts. But when Matt Finch joins the tour as its opening act, his boy-next-door charm proves difficult for Reagan to resist, despite her vow to live a drama-free existence. This summer, Reagan and Lilah will navigate the ups and downs of fame and friendship as they come to see that giving your heart to the right person is always a risk worth taking. A fresh new voice in contemporary romance, Emery Lord’s gorgeous writing hits all the right notes.

Review:

Matt Finch… Matt FREAKING Finch. What will I do with that boy? He has completely captured my heart once more and he isn’t even real.

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Let’s go back to Matt Finch later or else I will get emotional… My feels are already out of control.

The first and foremost thing I love the most about Open Road Summer is the music in it. I played music for over 10 years and Gosh Darnet I’m a sucker for musicians. Everyone knows it. It’s not a secret. Every single crush I’ve had in my entire life has been a musician except for one. That says a lot. It’s probably why I fell so hard so Mr. Matt Finch and why it made this book that much sweeter to me.

I really really loved the friendship between Dee and Reagan. It is rare to see such a good friendship on paper. Most YA novels have great friendships, but this one is one of the rare ones and that amazes me. It’s amazing how loyal they are to each other. It is rare to find friends that are that loyal. As someone who has had people stab me in the back, seeing this perfectly imperfect friendship just warms my heart.

What I saw this time reading it for the second time that I didn’t see the first time is how mature Reagan is. The first time around, I just saw her recklessness and sassy-ness because this girl is just PURE SASS, but this time, I saw how much she really hesitated and how much she wanted to grow and be a better person, not just for those around her, but for herself. She saw that her rebellious and destructive behavior was getting her nowhere except into a hole that would be really hard to get out of one day.

Matt Finch. That man… Gosh. He surprised me more this second time around. I was able to truly see how broken he was, the pain he was in, it made my heart hurt. At work we can listen to music or podcasts while we work, and I was listening to the ORS audiobook and I almost cried there staring at my computer screen because it was just so sad and heart-wrenching. My heart literally hurt. It was painful.

This second reread of Open Road Summer was purely amazing. I think I fell in love with this book a little bit more and it bumped down other favorites on my list. I’m still amazed at the fact that this is Emery Lord’s DEBUT NOVEL. Mind Blown.

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Rating: 5 out of 5

 

Contemporary Conversations, Reviews, ya contemporary

ContempConvos: The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson

Veronica Porras (TTB)

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Goodreads Summary:

For the past five years, Hayley Kincain and her father, Andy, have been on the road, never staying long in one place as he struggles to escape the demons that have tortured him since his return from Iraq. Now they are back in the town where he grew up so Hayley can attend school. Perhaps, for the first time, Hayley can have a normal life, put aside her own painful memories, even have a relationship with Finn, the hot guy who obviously likes her but is hiding secrets of his own.

Will being back home help Andy’s PTSD, or will his terrible memories drag him to the edge of hell, and drugs push him over? The Impossible Knife of Memory is Laurie Halse Anderson at her finest: compelling, surprising, and impossible to put down.

Introduction:

Welcome to something that Kayla and I like to call Chat Style Book Reviews, but as you will see… It’s more like a discussion. We had tons of fun with this and I hope you find reading this as much fun as we had writing it. So that you can know who is writing what, I have given each of our parts different colors. I am the Red Violet text and Kayla is the Royal Blue text.

Review:

Dear Lord where do I start? THAT BOOK AND ITS FEELS. I’ve always loved Ms. Anderson’s books and this is no exception. All I can think is… FINN. AND THAT HE IS HISPANIC. AND HIS LAST NAME IS RAMOS. AND THAT HE IS FIIIIIIINE. Okay, Kayla… a little help here!

FINN RAMOS. I really am of no help here because FINNNNNN. I’m pretty sure that name is magical, just like Rowan. Every single character that I’ve read about with the name “Finn” (or Finnegan – even better) is a favorite of mine. So – new resolution: if I have two sons, they will be Finn and Rowan. So it is written, so let it be done. BUT ANYWAY…

Damn it. I’m still speechless. What did I love, besides the Finn? 1) Hayley’s prickliness. I really liked her narration, even if it was grating at times. EVERYTHING about Anderson’s writing screamed of Hayley’s mental status. Even without her voicing her problems and putting them into black and white terms, I just KNEW she was struggling. And the way she described her panic attacks was like YES I GET IT. I just wanted to wrap her up and keep her safe forever.

OMG I know. At first I found it too perfect for her not to be struggling and then when we started getting those glimpses I was like CRAP. She too is experiencing what her Dad is, just in a different way. While she doesn’t remember, her Dad remembers it all. I think both remembering and not remembering are equally devastating.

Something I really liked was that Ms. Anderson totally showed us that someone can change. We can see it in her once upon a time step mom. She might have added to Hayley’s trauma, but she came back and tried to help both of them. She got her act together and changed. I love it when they give us hope because we all need it. We need to see that people do change, but only if they are willing. That is the key.

Ahhh her step-mom. I was totally with Hayley when she came back, but once I stopped thinking as Hayley and started thinking as an outsider, I really saw how much she truly had changed. The mini-redemption-arc was a great touch to the book, because it also tied in with Hayley’s journey toward healing.

Speaking of healing arcs – Hayley’s dad. I was so thrilled by the fact that there wasn’t an HEA. Does that sound awful? I’m just ecstatic that it wasn’t like a “oh they’re magically better” sort of moment. Mental illness is hard work to get through, and a single epiphany won’t make it go away. But the fact that there was so much hope in the end – that even though Hayley and her dad will both still struggle, they’ll still be okay – I just needed to see that message.

No, it doesn’t sound awful. I too liked that we were given hope for a better future instead of a happily ever after because in real life, we see hope and most of the time not an instant happily ever after.

Overall, The Impossible Knife of Memory is a book I think we will both cherish for what’s its worth and its message, and I am absolutely glad we read it together. I suggest you all take a moment and go to a bookstore and pick this book up. It will change your life. Amen sister!

Rating:

Vero: 5 out of 5

Kayla: 5 out of 5

 

Contemporary Conversations

ContempConvos: The Museum of Intangible by Wendy Wunder

Veronica Porras (TTB)

museum-of-intangible

Goodreads Summary:

Hannah and Zoe haven’t had much in their lives, but they’ve always had each other. So when Zoe tells Hannah she needs to get out of their down-and-out New Jersey town, they pile into Hannah’s beat-up old Le Mans and head west, putting everything—their deadbeat parents, their disappointing love lives, their inevitable enrollment at community college—behind them.

As they chase storms and make new friends, Zoe tells Hannah she wants more for her. She wants her to live bigger, dream grander, aim higher. And so Zoe begins teaching Hannah all about life’s intangible things, concepts sadly missing from her existence—things like audacity, insouciance, karma, and even happiness.

An unforgettable read from the acclaimed author of The Probability of Miracles, The Museum of Intangible Things sparkles with the humor and heartbreak of true friendship and first love.

Review:

This was such a difficult books to read. I had no idea what I was getting into except for what Kayla said which is that it wasn’t what she was expecting.

We start of with Hannah introducing herself and her situation, and then we come across her best friend Zoe. Right off the bat we know something is wrong with Zoe. We don’t know exactly what until Hannah tells us she has a bi-polar disorder and once was locked up. Zoe and Hannah had a system for dealing with the effects of the disorder until one day it couldn’t be helped any longer.

It was so sad to see the crazy Zoe got into once they went on their road-trip. It hurt even more to see Hannah see her best friend like that.

The ending was brutal as well as the epilogue. Zoe couldn’t deal with the disorder any longer which propelled her to jump of the Grand Canyon and killed herself. It was a little fuzzy, but it suggests that lightning did hit her and that she was burned up. What was more unbelievable was the fact that Hannah almost herself jumped with Zoe. Zoe was everything and if it meant Zoe would be better if she too jumped with her, so be it.

I was also bummed out that Danny wasn’t a part of her life in the future. She mentions in the epilogue that first loves don’t last and that she still looks at their picture. Honestly, Danny didn’t really do much for me, but he did mean a lot to Hannah.

The most heart-breaking part of this entire novel was the part in the epilogue where it is mentioned that she writes to Noah once a month and sends the letters to the NASA office where he works. What exactly is he doing in NASA? HE is searching for life in the universe. To me that is a little brother hoping that his sister was abducted by aliens, instead of thinking that she killed herself. Gosh it breaks my heart.

I don’t think I could ever read this again, but it is a good example of how hard it is for the person suffering a mental disorder, and how hard it also is for the people who love that love them.

Rating: 4 out of 5