Summer Reading Review - Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

Sarah Dessen Summer Reading Special!!
I just felt like this was nessecary. Sarah Dessen is one of my absolute favorite autors and provides great summer reads AND all of her books got new covers a few weeks ago so I thought I'd voice my opinion about those and commit every Summer Reading Review in July to a Sarah Dessen novel :)

.

Goodreads Synopsis


Last year, Annabel was "the girl who has everything"—at least that's the part she played in the television commercial for Kopf's Department Store.This year, she's the girl who has nothing: no best friend because mean-but-exciting Sophie dropped her, no peace at home since her older sister became anorexic, and no one to sit with at lunch. Until she meets Owen Armstrong. Tall, dark, and music-obsessed, Owen is a reformed bad boy with a commitment to truth-telling. With Owen's help,maybe Annabel can face what happened the night she and Sophie stopped being friends




LONG STORY SHORT:
This story is so thoughtful, so heartwarming, so difficult. And so non-cliché. It leaves you with a great message, it teaches you a lesson about friendship and family and life in general without you even noticing. The only thing you have to keep in mind is that this is quite a long book and it will take you a while to get through. Don't try to devour it, enjoy it with patience.

REVIEW:
I got this book in a box set for christmas, pretty much only because I knew it'd be ridiculous to only add one Sarah Dessen at a time to my shelf. I seriously love all the books I've read so far and will continue buying them probably until my life is over.

Dessen's books are a guarantee for any teenage girl to save some money she'd otherwise spend on a therapist. Next to Meg Cabot's, I think her books should be handed to any fifteen-year- old female wandering around on this earth. She's a bit different from Meg, though as her novels are rather deep and thoughtful and not as funny and quirky. Just Listen is the perfect example for that. I loved this book especially for the thoughtful messages it provided.

Annabel, the main character, was a girl I could immediately identify with. Some family issues combined with misunderstandings and some best- friend drama and she's all alone on this crazy planet, trying to survive by giving her life to others. She also has to deal with some heavy issues apart from her sister's anorexia or her loneliness at school. Annabel is a well-rounded character with a thousand different character traits that make her as unique as all of Dessen's heroines.

Another thing I love about Just Listen is how there's never a right or wrong. You sit there, staring into the sky and try to figure out what would be the right thing to do for Annabel, her way out but you don't know. And then, in the end, you get presented a solution that fits the character and her story but it doesn't necessarily mean that it is right for everyone. I feel like Just Listen shows in a very careful way how every human being faces different issues and has to deal with them but instead of pointing the way to the "How exactly?" it appeals to the reader to get moving and figure it out for his or her life.

As I said, I found Annabel herself a very sympathetic character. However, I fell in love with her family, too. Her two sisters - each so different - and her parents did have their struggles and problems in life but it was heartwarming and inspiring to see them work things out bit by bit.

Of course, in a Dessen novel I have to mention the guy - and as always I'm not too impressed. I don't really like those nice, caring guys and I know this does sound weird but these silent, thoughtful boys who look like criminals and then - when you get to know them - turn out being the most sensitive people around? Not my type. Then again, Owen probably could make almost every other girl swoon, so I'll just shut up at this point :)

The plot is rather slow but it's by no means a bad thing. I think you need the time the novel offers you to get the whole experience, to take a part of the book with you for your own life.

All in all, Just Listen is a pretty sad Sarah Dessen novel, but at the same time it is heartwarming and beautiful. It's one of those books that make you cry out of sadness and out of joy at the same time. I haven't even talked about the whole friendship-drama that Annabel is going through and which makes the novel even more complex! I definitely recommend Just Listen to every girl out there - especially if you read and loved Dessen's The Truth About Forever!

COVER:




I don't really know with this one. We have the headphones on the new cover, the MP3 Player on the old cover...and a girl in jeans and t-shirt...I think I like the old cover better, though - the top is cuter :)

Review #18 Abandon - Meg Cabot

Goodreads summary:

Though she tries returning to the life she knew before the accident, Pierce can't help but feel at once a part of this world, and apart from it. Yet she's never alone... because someone is always watching her. Escape from the realm of the dead is impossible when someone there wants you back.
But now she's moved to a new town. Maybe at her new school, she can start fresh. Maybe she can stop feeling so afraid.
Only she can't. Because even here, he finds her. That's how desperately he wants her back. She knows he's no guardian angel, and his dark world isn't exactly heaven, yet she can't stay away... especially since he always appears when she least expects it, but exactly when she needs him most.
But if she lets herself fall any further, she may just find herself back in the one place she most fears: the Underworld.


Release Date: April 26 2011
Pages: 307 (Hardcover)
Genre: Mythology (retelling)
Series? yes, #1


LONG STORY SHORT:

The important advantage this book has is that you fly through it in no time. I felt like I didn't even notice I was turning the pages until I reached the end. Then again, the story itself was actually not that gripping or funny or anything. I think Meg Cabot's writing is great in this book and that - combined with the complex characters and great setting -  definitely makes up for the rather predictable and not very original ( it's a retelling-duh!) plot.

REVIEW:
I actually thought my Meg Cabot phase was pretty much over. Like that game you loved to play as a kid but avoid when you're older because you know you wouldn't be into it as much as you used to and it would only destroy memories. Well, with Meg it's not quite like that.

As I mentioned above I found this book - like most stuff Meg writes - to be a very quick read. You just open it during your lunch period and then wonder where it's gone by the time you arrive home at night. The setting of Abandon was very cool, as well. That island with its creepy cemetrey and the school Pierce goes to? I could totally picture it in my head! The main characers were so well figured out this time. Pierce but also Alex and the rest of their family had very interesting - and sometimes troubled - pasts which also gave Abandon a mucn  darker touch I didn't really expect to find.
The side characters definitely lacked some depth for me, though. I felt like some of them only had one or two appearances in the book while there should have been way more and especially Pierce's uncle and grandmother - who are such big influences on the plot and Pierce's life came too short for my taste.
Then there's John. Oh well. To me, he's a bit pale, too. I have that feeling that I don't really know him although he was such a big part of the novel,as well.

What I found really confusing was the beginning of the novel. Cabot jumped back and forth in time a lot which sometimes made it difficult for me to keep track. Also, I think she put a bit too much information into this first book of the trilogy and not enough action. I will, of course, continue to read the trilogy, but I don't know if someone who doesn't see Cabot as their childhood heroine would feel blown away enough to pick up the next two books.

Abandon is not an epic fantasy read that will keep you glued to the pages and on the edge of your seet. It's that Cabot - like mix of contemporary and completely unrealistic (Princess Diaries), supernatural (The Mediator) or - like in this case - mythological elements.

All in all, the darker background and Meg's to-the-point writing style make Abandon a book that older Cabot fans (I am seventeen) will probaly enjoy, too. You just shouldn't expect a whole lot of action, although I liked the surprise at the end.

RATING: 2 out of 3 Smarties

Summer Reading: The Summer I Turned Pretty - Jenny Han

Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer--they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one terrible and wonderful summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.






Published: May 5th 2009
Pages: 276 (Hardcover)
Genre: Contemporary

LONG STORY SHORT:
This is it. The book you take to the beach, take out while you're tanning, read a chapter, dose off and think about love and growing up and family and boys and how bitter-sweet summer can be. Other than that this is a novel that has a nice coming-of-age story, many cute male characters, a rather sad subplot. If you're looking for the perfect book to read while you spend quality time sunbathing, this is for you. If you plan on reading it in one setting with all your attention focused on the story and not on the boys in front of you playing volleyball (shirtless) you might get bored.

REVIEW:

I wanted this book because everyone has already it. And its sequel. And the third book. I also wanted it because I really liked the summary on the back which promised a contemporary featuring a girl that seemed so much like me. And of course, I wanted a nice summer read.

What do they always tell you? The first impression someone has of you matters? So true! I found this book was very easy to get into, the first scene (brother and sister teasing each other) sooo familiar! My reviews most of the time turn out a lot better when I feel like home in the story during the first few pages. So yes, it was easy to get into The Summer I Turned Pretty and that I liked a lot.
Other than that, the setting, a beach house in a cute little beach town, was wonderful. I wanted to be there! So badly! I was so jealous of Belly! You do get into that summer-y feeling (that also makes you stop doing your homework although you're not out of school for summer yet...) .
The way the story was told with the flashbacks to past summers and the fact that there always seemed to be something happening kept it interesting and made it fluent, so that you could just go along with it.
I especially liked Susannah, Belly's mom's best friend, who was such a nice and caring person that I wished I knew her personally. The rest of the characters were very cool, too. Jeremiah, one of Bailey's friends is such a funny and cute guy! I also liked that - although she didn't appear - in this exact summer we got to know Belly's best friend Taylor through the flashbacks.
The way family was brought into the book was a plus for me, as well. I like when it's not always about love and crushes but also the problems you face at home with your parents as you're growing up.

The only thing that bothered me a little bit was the main character herself, Belly. She not only whines about how she is treated like a baby a lot throughout the book - more often than not she also acts like a baby. Sometimes I just wanted to roll my eyes at her for her noisyness and the way she would listen to adults' conversations that really weren't any of her business. All in all she was likeable, but there were times when I thought her behaviour was much more childish than most people act when they pass the age of three. So, yes, that was a bit too much, I believe.

It's mostly just the whole of the story that made me enjoy it. I could name detail after detail that made this book perfect for summer, but I will just leave you with the statement that it is - in my opinion.

What bothered me a little bit was the sometimes rather stiff dialogue and some scenes that appeared forced, as though the author wanted that scene to happen so badly that she just threw it in there without thinking twice about the question if it'd fit the characters.

All in all, this book is great if you want something light for summer that won't make you think much, but that will make you feel a nice mix of summer-y emotions

RATING: 3 out of 3 Smarties



Perfect for Summer? Yes, take it to the beach/poolside, open it up, enjoy.

Review #16 - Social Suicide by Gemma Halliday

Goodreads summary:

Twittercide [twit-er-sahyd]: the killing of one human being by another while the victim is in the act of tweeting.

Call me crazy, but I figured writing for the Herbert Hoover High Homepage would be a pretty sweet gig. Pad the resume for college applications, get a first look at the gossip column, spend some time ogling the paper’s brooding bad-boy editor, Chase Erikson. But on my first big story, things went... a little south. What should have been a normal interview with Sydney Sanders turned into me discovering the Homecoming Queen-hopeful dead in her pool. Electrocuted while Tweeting. Now, in addition to developing a reputation as HHH’s resident body finder, I’m stuck trying to prove that Sydney’s death wasn’t suicide.

I’m starting to long for the days when my biggest worry was whether the cafeteria was serving pizza sticks or Tuesday Tacos..

Published: 2012

Pages: 277

Genre: Mystery

LONG STORY SHORT:

I will confess that I did have some sequel-trouble with Social Suicide, although it was nothing major. Readers who loved the (continuosly) snarky voice in Deadly Cool might be a bit disappointed (as I was) because I felt like the plot and character development took higher priority in this one than language, but pay attention to my choice of words. Everything I loved in Deadly Cool - Hartley and her easy view on things/ her snarky voice, the not-lovey-dovey romance, the suspense in the end and the complete confusion over who killed whom - where still there. The emphasis on some aspects was just (in my opinion) different from the first book. All in all a fun novel that I will definitly reread when life gets tough!

REVIEW

After reading Deadly Cool - the first book in the series - I was convinced I would never be able to read about anything but Hartley and her great, funny, dangerous (well...kind of) mystery stories. I was so into her world and her character and her voice - it was amazing! So amazing that I had to preorder Social Suicide immediately, couldn't wait to start it and didn't want it to end.

Honestly, Deadly Cool and Social Suicide are amazing novels that make me laugh and forget reality. The perfect mix of fluent sarcasm and everyday situations that everyone knows so well result in a book that teaches you to "just deal with it" and that everyone else goes through the same things you do (like meat(ish) loaf and a paranoid mom).

I feel like I'm repeating myself, but what I love most about Social Suicide is Hartley's attitude towards life. Being more of a pessimist myself, I'm always inspired how she can freak over minor things just as teenagers do but always stays positive in a way. It's hard to describe. Like, she has that ability of staying happy, laughing about things that get thrown in her way instead of being grumpy about it.

Apart from that, I couldn't figure out the mystery in this one which really is a good thing. They took so many different directions in an effort to find out how Sydney died that I was too confused to work on it with my own brain. Again, this is not a negative aspect! I hate when you can tell what happened to the victim after the first few pages or so. The ending itself came so unexpected! I would never have guessed that! Also, we do see some development with Hartley and Chase but it's not too over the top and although this is a sequel - there is no love triangle! Yay! Sam was as amazing as ever - the best friend you could wish for!

The only thing I missed was how Hartley did not - not one single time - get the secret can of ice cream out of the fridge. I was so disappointed by that!

 Overall, I would say I had a little bit of sequel-trouble with this one, but I expected that to happen. My expectations towards most sequels are usually way over-the-top so that I always get a bit disappointed with seconds in series. Which should not mean that Social Suicide was a disappointment. I missed the snarky language from Book One a little bit (it wasn't as consistent-but-not-obvious) and sometimes I felt like the events were a bit rushed and fewer places to go and things to find out would've made it too, but most things I loved about Deadly Cool were still the same.
There's only one thing I really don't like about Social Suicide: the fact that it's already over.
Everyone: get it, read it, see new sense in life.
To the author: I want more! Please, please,please! And fast!

RATING: 3 out 0f 3 Smarties

Review #14 Rosebush-Michele Jaffe

People often forget that there are always two sides of a medal. Being popular means having a bunch of friends. It also means that when hit by a car there are a bunch of friends who could be blamed for your near-death experience....



Published: 2010
Pages: 326
Genre: Mystery
Long Story Short: After the first 20 pages or so? Amazing!

Goodreads synopsis:


Instead of celebrating Memorial Day weekend on the Jersey Shore, Jane is in the hospital surrounded by teddy bears, trying to piece together what happened last night. One minute she was at a party, wearing fairy wings and cuddling with her boyfriend. The next, she was lying near-dead in a rosebush after a hit-and-run. Everyone believes it was an accident, despite the phone threats Jane swears were real. But the truth is a thorny thing. As Jane's boyfriend, friends, and admirers come to visit, more memories surface-not just from the party, but from deeper in her past . . . including the night her best friend Bonnie died.
With nearly everyone in her life a suspect now, Jane must unravel the mystery before her killer attacks again. Along the way, she's forced to examine the consequences of her life choices in this compulsively readable thriller.


I've always wanted to try one of Michele Jaffe's books so when I saw this one in a bookstore I had to pick it up. It sat on my shelf for a while. Then it sat on my nightstand for a while. Then I started it, put it back on the nightstand and read something else. I started it again, made it through the first twenty pages and felt addicted. So, yes. I loved it.

Let's start with the bad things. Which is actually only one thing. As you can tell from the first paragraph of this I found neither the cover nor the blurb very convincing. My disliking the beginning of the book was the real problem, though. It didn't draw me in within the first few seconds which is why it took me so long to continue reading it. I just found all the hopping back and forth in time very confusing and also the whole lot of characters and character history that was thrown in from the first page on. I didn't understand what was important and what wasn't and what the whole story was about.

After I got over those pages and saw myself gliding into the actual story, I couldn't put this book down anymore.It got better with every page and at the end I was amazed. Michele Jaffe is one of my new favorite authors now for several reasons. The first is her way of telling a story. She describes emotions exactly how they feel without adding cliché and totally unnecessary adjectives. Then there was the actual plot. I at least couldn't figure out the ending until the very last page. There were so many twists and turns and all of them were reasonable and well thought out. Also, the characters were very likable and unique. No stereotyping and wonderful backgrounds for all of them. The main character grew a lot during this book but her development worked slowly, step by step. You could see how it was influenced. Lastly, the message of the book was amazing. I didn't really expect one at all but this one was so simple yet so important and just...just...AWESOME!

If you haven't noticed I loved this book and I'd recommend it to EVERYONE! I'd even go as far as to say that it changed my life in a way. Or at least my view on some things in life.

RATING: 3 out of 3 Smarties

Review #12 Deadly Cool - Gemma Halliday

A boyfriend who is cheating on you? - Sucks. A boyfriend who is cheating on you and accused of having committed a murder? - Really Sucks. But watcha gonna do about it???



Published: 2011
Pages: 303 (Paperback)
Genre: Mystery
Long Story Short: Loved it! Especially for the language...

Goodreads synopsis:

Hartley Grace Featherstone is having a very bad day. First she finds out that her boyfriend is cheating on her with the president of the Herbert Hoover High School Chastity Club. Then he’s pegged as the #1 suspect in a murder. And if that weren’t enough, now he’s depending on Hartley to clear his name. 
But as much as Hartley wouldn’t mind seeing him squirm, she knows he’s innocent, and she’s the only one who can help him. Along with her best friend, Sam, and the school’s resident Bad Boy, Chase, Hartley starts investigating on her own. But as the dead bodies begin to pile up, the mystery deepens, the suspects multiply, and Hartley begins to fear that she may be the killer’s next victim.


I bought this book mainly because of bookshelf tours I watched (and it seemed to appear in every single one), but also because I have never read a mystery. I just didn't think I'd like that kind of story, but Deadly Cool made me change my mind. Because it was amazing.

What I loved most was the language. Deadly Cool is told from the main character, Hartley's point of view and she's the most snarky, sarcastic girl I've ever read of / met. The great thing is the consistency of the tone. It doesn't just appear in special situations, but the whole story is told like that and that does not only round it up very well. It also kept me grinning and laughing the entire time.

Hartley was a great character. She just went along with everything that got in her way. She was never whiny, never annoying but confident most of the time which I love in characters. She was not the typical high school stereotype that either does stupid things and is popular or makes wise decisions and is considered a freak and social outcast.

Normally, I would list some negative aspects in this section of my review, but I just can't find any - I loved this book just so much. All the characters were so sympathetic, the mystery was (at least for me) not easy to figure out and the relationship/love interest aspect pretty much doesn't exist which I found to be refreshing.
The book is fast paced. You start reading, you stop reading and somehow notice there's only five pages left.

As for the love aspect in the book - it was there. And that was perfect. So refreshing to read about a teen girl that cares about boys but not ALL the time. I hate when in contemporary books every other thought of a girl is about the boy that you just KNOW she will end up with in the end. In Deadly Cool there were some - very cute - boys but they weren't the main focus.

All in all, I enjoyed this book a lot. It saved me from moving into a reading slump after being so disappointed by Dark Storm and kept me laughing. I'd recommend it to really everyone!

RATING: 3 out of 3 Smarties

Review #9 The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

Grief can make you do all kinds of things. It can throw you into that dark hole that you don't know the way out of...how convenient is it then to have not one but two wonderful guys to pull you out again?



Goodreads synopsis:
Seventeen-year-old Lennie Walker, bookworm and band geek, plays second clarinet and spends her time tucked safely and happily in the shadow of her fiery older sister, Bailey. But when Bailey dies abruptly, Lennie is catapulted to center stage of her own life—and, despite her nonexistent history with boys, suddenly finds herself struggling to balance two. Toby was Bailey’s boyfriend; his grief mirrors Lennie’s own. Joe is the new boy in town, a transfer from Paris whose nearly magical grin is matched only by his musical talent. For Lennie, they’re the sun and the moon; one boy takes her out of her sorrow, the other comforts her in it. But just like their celestial counterparts, they can’t collide without the whole wide world exploding. This remarkable debut is perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen, Deb Caletti, and Francesca Lia Block. Just as much a celebration of love as it is a portrait of loss, Lennie’s struggle to sort her own melody out of the noise around her is always honest, often hilarious, and ultimately unforgettable.


I picked this book mainly because I was in the mood for a very good contemporary read that might cheer me up a bit (my mood is pretty bad because it's almost may and all we get around here is grey sky and rain -ugh!). It might sound weird to choose a book that focuses on the death of some one's sister to lift my mood but I felt like this one would provide a nice happy end so I went with it. I did enjoy the book, I just wasn't obsessed with it.

What I liked most about this book was the way it was created - literally. Every few pages the regular story was interrupted for one of the protagonist's poems - beautifully written and really touching! I also liked the main character, Lennie, and her family. All of them were just so sympathetic and felt like real people and although you could see how all of them had a hard time dealing with the loss of Bailey they were so close and all had such great relationships, it was just adorable.

I wasn't a big fan of Toby, though.After the first few appearances he made in the book I was annoyed every time he came up and just wanted him to leave. Sorry, but I can't even put my finger on what exactly I didn't like about him. Maybe it was just that he was blocking the way to the other boy, Joe, in such an unnecessary way...
Which leads me to the next thing I didn't like: well...the plot. Which seems bad at first, but let me explain. I've never gone through something even similar to what Lennie goes through in this story, so I don't know how realistic her feelings towards the two boys are. As of right now I just didn't really understand what her problem was boy-wise. Other than that I loved Nelson's writing style. It was easy to get into the story and she didn't waste pages over pages to describe unimportant details which made The Sky is Everywhere a fast, enjoyable read.

The storyline around Lennie's mother was very interesting and one of the main reasons I wanted to keep reading this book. From pretty much the first chapter I was wondering what's it with her and the author kept me guessing almost until the last page.

To sum it up, this book was different in some ways than most contemporary fiction I read which made it a refreshing read for me. I was not a big fan of Toby, but I liked Joe okay and found the relationships between Lennie's family members and the way they dealt with unpleasant situations admirable.

RATING: 2 out of 3 Smarties

Review #5 If I Stay - Gayle Forman

Imagine you are about to lose everything. Imagine your whole life was about to change forever. Would you go on anyway?




Goodreads summary:

In a single moment, everything changes. Seventeen-year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall riding along the snow-wet Oregon road with her family. Then, in a blink, she finds herself watching as her own damaged body is taken from the wreck... 


A sophisticated, layered, and heartachingly beautiful story about the power of family and friends, the choices we all make -and the ultimate choice Mia commands


I have a feeling I'm going to remember this novel for a very long time. Or more precisely I'm not going to forget it for the rest of my life. Really, it's amazing. I can't even put it into words. But of course I'm going to try anyway.

What amazed me most,I believe was the overall feeling you get while reading the novel. Once you start reading it you just can't put it down. "If I Stay" is one of those books that makes you feel like you have lived in its world all your life, like you were a part of it.

The characters are absolutely relatable. I fell in love with all of them at the very beginning. Mia was a great narrator and protagonist. She had a way of telling her story without exaggerating, she didn't need to use an enumeration of big adjectives to explain her point, everything she said was expressed in simple words which took away every chance for the novel to get boring or dreading.
None of the other characters seemed flat to me, they all had their very own edges and passions and none of them were those stereotypes you often see in novels. None of them were "typical geeks" or "typical mean girls" or something. They were just normal but very individual.

The action started fast in this book but the author,Gayle Forman, took her time describing the different situations and emotions. She never used too many or not enough words. Also, everything just felt so real as if it could happen to anyone anytime. The fact that you don't get any hints on how the story is going to turn out was keeping me on edge and made it almost impossible to put this book down.

I am not a musical person. Not at all. But the musical theme in this book just fit so well and is a huge part of the novel and I loved it. It really inspired me to expand my knowledge of music and it points out how many different kinds of music there are and how important music is in pretty much everyone's life.
Lastly, I would like to mention how this novel also brought me thinking about my life and what's really important in life and how much we should all appreciate the people who we are close with.
All in all this novel really touched my heart and it is just so special that I would tell anyone who hasn't read it yet to do so now. Come on. Go. Get it. Now.

Greetings, the Booksmartie

RATING: 3 out of 3 Smarties

Review #4 Anna and the French Kiss - Stephanie Perkins

Parents can be somewhat annoying, can't they? They make us do chores, they give us curfews and the very, very mean examples send us to a fabulous boarding school in FRANCE where we get to meet a ton of cute guys and get to eat nutella-banana- crêpes all the time...at least that's what happens to Anna in "Anna and the French Kiss"



Goodreads summary:

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris - until she meets Etienne St. Clair: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home.

As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near - misses end with the French kiss Anna - and readers - have long awaited?

I chose to take French in eighth grade. I met my French teacher and regretted it. I chose to quit French a year after that. Since then I've avoided anything that has to do with France. Until - you guessed it - I read this novel. To cut it short: I loved it. The story, the setting, the language, the characters - just beautiful.

I believe that there's different kinds of wonderful books. There's books like Divergent or The Hunger Games that draw you into their story until you're not sure which world is the one you actually belong with. However, Anna and the French Kiss - for me, at least - was just a wonderful, beautiful read that I enjoyed. It is not so much what happens in the book although the plot in my opinion is very well constructed. I was surprised by the things that happened, the many problems that appeared and how they were solved.

What really made me love this book, though, was the way the story was told. The descriptions of Paris and the French, the whole atmosphere in the school and the dorm, the relationships between the characters and how they developed.

Anna was refreshingly ... special, I think you could call it. She has so many different character traits and habits that it feels like getting to know a real girl and not just a fictional character. In addition to that, not one time in the story she made a decision that seemed unreasonable to me. The way she thinks about things and how she treats other people, all her actions just seem normal and you're not asking yourself why on earth she handles things the way she does.

I liked the other characters, too. Some very minor ones were maybe a little bit flat, but that didn't bother me at all. One gets to see some  hot guys - perfect boyfriend material - but also relationships between normal friends and how they change in the process of growing up.

All in all I can recommend this book for really everyone (okay, maybe every girl). I think even readers who usually don't like to read romantic novels or contemporary fiction in general would enjoy this story - and fall in love with everything french ;)

Greetings, the Booksmartie

RATING: 3 out of 3 Smarties

Review #3 The Truth About Forever - Sarah Dessen

Macy's world is quiet, structured, forseeable. Her life seems well-planned, everything nice and in order, Macy herself on her way to perfectionism. The kind of perfect that her boyfriend resembles. The kind of perfect that's just good enough to please her mom, to keep things as they are. Quiet. Peaceful. Fine, just fine.

It takes a whole crew of disorganized caterers to make Macy wake up from the daily coma she walks through and discover that life can be so much more fun the further away it fades from perfectionism...

Goodreads summary:

a long, hot summer... 

That's what Macy has to look forward to while her boyfriend, Jason, is away at Brain Camp. Days will be spent at a boring job in the library, evenings will be filled with vocabulary drills for the SATs, and spare time will be passed with her mother, the two of them sharing a silent grief at the traumatic loss of Macy's father. 

But sometimes unexpected things can happen—things such as the catering job at Wish, with its fun-loving, chaotic crew. Or her sister's project of renovating the neglected beach house, awakening long-buried memories. Things such as meeting Wes, a boy with a past, a taste for Truth-telling, and an amazing artistic talent, the kind of boy who could turn any girl's world upside down. As Macy ventures out of her shell, she begins to wonder, Is it really better to be safe than sorry?

This book was for me. Totally. In like...every aspect you can think of. It was perfect. 

I usually grab a Sarah Dessen novel at times when I just don't feel good about myself and if something's really wrong in my life and I just want to see other people figuring out difficult stages of adolescence. And usually, I get what I want. Which is good, but not that 3-smarties kind of great/amazing/wonderful.

It is different for me with "The Truth about forever".

 From the first page I fell in love with the characters and when I say characters I mean every single one. Macy was that kind of a girl that you want to befriend immediately and Macy's family - although her mom might be a bit difficult - is just so amazing.

The catering-crew, of course, is fantastic, too. They are all so happy and they present a really healthy way of taking life as it is and making the best out of everything.

The way the story went was not that surprising - in my opinion, but I find that with almost every contemporary novel you can guess the ending by the synopsis. There just won't suddenly appear a pack of werewolves from behind the garbage container.

What I liked about this Dessen - novel better than in some others of her works was the story telling and the way Macy's situation and emotions were described. Macy and I do share some similarities, but even if one doesn't I think it would be very easy for him or her to identify with the protagonist.

I could continue praising this novel pretty much forever, but I'm gonna stop now by encouraging every single teenage/young adult girl/ grown up woman out there to read this book :)

Greetings, the Booksmartie

RATING: 3 out of 3 Smarties