February Break Reading

I read a lot over February break. We were in Cancun, Mexico. (Don't hate me!) Reading on the beach is one of my favorite things to do, so while my kids played in the ocean and the pool--

I read:

Anatomy of a Misfit by Andrea Portes

This novel is narrated by a sophomore girl named Anika. She is the "third most popular girl" in her high school--and she has to fake a friendship with the most popular girl in school to keep her status. 

Her voice is raw. She uses slang and swears, and so her voice comes off as both real and lacking in any grace at all. In other words, the narrative is written in a voice that is so real it's almost irritating.

The story takes places in a small town in the Midwest. Anika likes an outcast (but super cool) boy, but is also wooed by the coolest boy in town, who she is not sure she likes. I was bothered that the plot was so derivative. The plot line, with the exception to the ending, is just like the movie "Heathers." I didn't love "Heathers," and I didn't love this book.

The plot was clunky. The characters, I think, are cliched, and the ending of the book doesn't work. It didn't rock me as it was meant to. It just seemed predictable and didactic.

I only give this book 2 out of 5 stars.

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The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey

This is a futuristic novel. Aliens have attacked the Earth in waves. Nearly all humanity is wiped out during the first four waves, and at the start of this book we meet the cast of characters as they encounter and battle the fifth wave.

The plot is interesting and fast-paced. The narration is first person, but from multiple voices: Cassie, the protagonist, Sammy, her brother, Evan, her frienemy turned boyfriend, and Ben (Zombie), a boy turned bad who is then turned good again. The characters are likable, relatively developed, and their voices work.

I liked this book enough so that I just ordered the sequel, The Infinite Sea. If you like futuristic novels with fast plots, this book is for you.

4.5 out of 5 stars.




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To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

I loved this book! The title is cheesy, which at first put me off, but I started the book anyway after reading a few positive reviews. So glad I did.

The premise of the story is that Lara-Jean, a very innocent and sweet sixteen-year-old, has, over the years, written love letters to all the boys she has crushed on. She does so as a way to get over them and move on. She saves the letters in a box her (now dead) mother gave to her.

The box goes missing and the letters are sent. Each boy to whom she has written gets his letter, and voila! The plot.

Lara Jean is annoyingly innocent and sweet, but I couldn't help but like her anyway. Also, I liked how she wants what she can't have, but then, despite herself, grows to want what she does have.

5 out of 5 stars.


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The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

After finishing To All the Boys I've Loved Before, I looked for another book by Jenny Han. This book is the first in a series of books about a seventeen-year-old girl, Belly (short for Isabella). Belly grows up summering at her mom's best friend's gorgeous summer home on the beach. Her mother's BF has two boys, and Belly is in love with the older of the two, Conrad. 

The story is bittersweet. The voice and characters feel real and not forced. This, like the previous Han book I wrote about, is a book about relationships and growth. I loved it and I just ordered the second and third book in the series.

5 out of 5 stars.

Free to Fall by Lauren Miller

"Fast-forward to a time when Apple and Google have been replaced by Gnosis, a monolith corporation that has developed the most life-changing technology to ever hit the market: Lux, an app that flawlessly optimizes decision making for the best personal results." (from GoodReads.)

Rory is a brilliant teenager recently accepted to the elite Theden Academy. When she arrives, the plot begins. Basically, Rory learns of the nefarious plot of those in charge of the creation of Lux.

This is a book that is ALL plot. I liked it. It kept me turning pages. But a study in character it is not. I didn't grow to like the characters because they are too flat to get to know. The relationship between Rory and her boyfriend, North, is without color or character. Boring.
Still, I liked this book. It's fun and fast.

I'd give this a 3.5 out of 5 stars.



Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson

This book is the opposite of Free to Fall in terms of voice and style. This book is ALL character and little plot. The beginning was slow, but once I got into it I wanted to read to the end.

Emily and Sloane are best friends. Then one day Sloane and her family disappear. Sloane sends Emily a cryptic letter in the form of a list of things Emily should do over the summer, which includes items like "kiss a stranger" and "dance at dawn."  Emily follows the list and as she does so becomes increasingly independent and less fearful. She also makes new friends who help her "to grow."

I thought this would be a Who Dun it? type of novel in which we slowly learn the creepy, evil underpinning behind Sloane's family's disappearance. It wasn't that it all. It's a story about Emily. Sloane's disappearance is just a backdrop.

I enjoyed this book. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.
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Popular:Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek by Maya Van Wagenen

This memoir is actually authored by an eighth grader. When I bought it I thought it was written by a woman looking back on her middle school years. It was no such thing.

Maya is an eighth grader living in southern Texas. She describes herself as a social outcast. After she discovers a "How To" guide on becoming popular she decides to follow the advice in the book, implementing strategies every week until the end of the school year. The kick is, the book was written in the late 1950s!

I enjoyed this book. I became slightly bored in the middle of it, but in general I found it entertaining and heartening.

3.5 out of 5 stars.