Category Archives: Contemporary

Review: Gilt Hollow by Lorie Langdon

Book Review and Content, Christian World-View, Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , ,

Gilt Hollow by Lorie LangdonGilt Hollow
Lorie Langdon
Blink YA/Zondervan
Available September 27, 2016

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Ashton Keller has longed for this moment every day for the last four years: the day he returns home to Gilt Hollow for revenge on the boys who ruined his life. He will do whatever it takes to clear his name and prove he didn’t murder his friend Daniel. But the town doesn’t greet him with welcoming arms, and it’s certainly not going to give up its secrets easily. Harder still, being back reminds Ashton of things he’d rather forget, like his best friend Willow.

Willow spent months writing Ashton every day after his conviction, which she believed false. She stood by him, even though all she ever got in return was silence. Now that Ashton’s back, she’s determined to steer clear. But the affection that brought them together once somehow survived their time apart. With Ashton digging up the past, Willow must decide whether to stay away or risk her own life. As the sinister truth about what happened the day Daniel died begins to emerge, Willow and Ashton realize the next murder victim may be one of them.

This story is a bit darker than the Doon series tales that Lorie Langdon wrote with Carey Corp. I wasn’t sure if there would be some kind of supernatural element here in Gilt Hollow. There isn’t, but I didn’t feel like the story needed it either.

The whole perfect pure girl falls for bad boy storyline is not a new idea. I worried that the romance elements would overshadow the rest of the story, but I think there’s actually a really great balance between the plot of solving the murder and the development of the romance.

I enjoyed the antics between her and her best friend Lisa. She was another character who kept the story from getting too swoony. I wasn’t a huge fan of the way Lisa pushed Willow to wear things outside her comfort zone, especially when the goal seemed to be to impress a boy. It’s definitely something that happens, but I guess I would have had more respect for Willow if she stuck to her guts and wore what she was comfortable with rather than trying to be someone else.

The most difficult part of the story for me was the fact that both Willow and Ashton continue to date other people as the romantic tension between them heats up. Neither of them seemed to have any feelings of guilt or remorse for basically leading their dates on or using them to gather information. I feel like at least a pause for reflection or some acknowledgement that what they were doing was wrong or hurtful would have made me like them more. Ashton’s girlfriend does have a frank conversation with him about not wanting to be used, but he doesn’t come clean with her or seem to feel that bad even when he reflects on it briefly afterward.

On the whole, I enjoyed the story, especially the mystery elements. I don’t read enough stories with this blend of mystery and romance. The suspense elements were light enough that I think even younger teens could handle them. See below for content information.

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Cultural Elements
All major characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Two instances of mild profanity. Someone urinates on a popular boy’s football jersey. I’m disappointed in the use of profanity in the book. Blink is an imprint of Zondervan publishing books with no overt Christian message, but even so—profanity? Really? Why is this in a book by a Christian publisher?

Romance/Sexual Content
Ashton and Willow get a little bit fresh with each other in comments that hint at sexual contact. They’re fairly oblique. A boy and girl kiss several times. Both Ashton and Willow date someone else as a means to gather information. They aren’t faithful and don’t really seem to have much remorse about it.

Spiritual Content
Willow’s pastor makes a brief appearance and offers her some spiritual advice. It’s a small moment that doesn’t drive the story, but it felt authentic.

Violent Content
A couple boys have a brief fist fight.

Drug Content
None.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

 

Review: Every Exquisite Thing by Matthew Quick

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,

Every Exquisite Thing
Matthew Quick
Little, Brown and Company Books for Young Readers
Available May 31, 2016

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It starts with a book. A beloved teacher gives Nanette his copy of an out-of-print novel called The Bubblegum Reaper, about a Holden Caulfield-type boy who falls in love with a girl who shares her secrets with a turtle. As Nanette reads and rereads the novel, she becomes impassioned. She reaches out to the author and discovers another boy who loves the book, and in him, a potential soulmate. But when his vigilante attitude takes him too far, Nanette must learn find the courage to be herself despite the expectations of others on her own.

Part The Fault in Our Stars and part The Bell Jar, Nanette’s journey follows two misfits struggling to find a way out of the parts of life they find so smothering, a story sure to resonate with anyone who has ever been bullied or felt out of place. As Nanette slips closer to the edge of her own sanity, it’s easy to feel her fragility and desperation. Though not quite as dark as his earlier novel Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock, this tale lacks none of the emotional punch and wry quirkiness that readers have come to expect from Quick.

While I’m kind of a sucker for this kind of story, I find I’m often left kind of wishing there was more of a triumph at the end of the tale. I did feel that way here, but in a way, it’s kind of the point that I think the author was trying to make. In life, we don’t always get those big moments where things snap neatly into place. Every Exquisite Thing isn’t without its victories. But it’s definitely one of those stories whose goal is to force you to think more deeply about situations in your life rather than to scratch the happily-ever-after itch.

Fans of Belzhar should give this one a try.

Recommended Age 17 up.

Cultural Elements
None.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used with moderate frequency. Much of the profanity was in the latter half of the book. There’s also some crude language about sex and male genitals. In one instance, Nanette and her friends are talking about boys and her friends ask about the size of Nan’s boy’s parts. She responds with an exaggeration that’s meant to point out the stupidity of the conversation, but the joke goes over the girls’ heads.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing. Nan invites a boy to touch her boob. (Afterward, her mom comments on the “nice show”.) At one point, Nan decides to have sex with a boy. It’s briefly described. At one point, Nan visits an adult friend only to discover that he and a lady appear to be in the middle of a romance. She doesn’t see anything wholly inappropriate. (I think one character wears a robe when answering the door.)

Spiritual Content
Nanette and Alex talk at length about God. At one point they list reasons they don’t believe in God (disasters, pain, negative things like that) and reasons they do believe. Nanette comments that it’s clear they both wish the list of reasons to believe would outnumber the reasons not to.

Violent Content
Alex tells Nanette (via his poetry) about being bullied at school. Later, he fights bullies picking on another kid and punches a man in the face.

Drug Content
Nanette goes to parties where her friends get drunk.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Review: The Best Possible Answer by E. Katherine Kottaras

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,

The Best Possible Answer
E. Katherine Kottaras
St. Martin’s Griffin
Available November 1, 2016

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When a panic attack lands Viviana in the hospital, her mother insists that she slow down and stop taking her studies so seriously. But even the thought of slowing down stresses Vivi out. She has summer engineering camp to attend! And SATs to prep for! And college applications to write! Everything has to go perfectly, no room for error. It’s the only way her dad will stop being disappointed in her and come home. And after her failure at school, the one involving Dean and that photo she sent him, Vivi needs something to go right.

But her mom won’t be swayed, so instead, Vivi ends up spending the summer with her best friend working at the community pool. At first it seems like a nice change of pace. But Vivi’s mistakes find her, even in her new quieter life. And she discovers that she’s not the only one who was hiding from the truth. Her father has a secret that could destroy the entire family.

I found it so easy to identify with driven, perfectionist Viviana. I loved her relationships with her mom and sister and the way her friendship with Sammie changed over the course of the story, too. It felt very real and authentic, exactly the kinds of changes relationships can go through in high school. I liked that Vivi’s family was so complex. I liked that her mom’s cancer was something they’d overcome together, and you could still see the shadow of it over them, but it didn’t define them as a family, or her mom as a character. Her mom surprised me. I kind of expected not to like her, and then as the story went on, you could really see the strength she possesses and how much Vivi gets that same strong character from her.

For me, The Best Possible Answer is another win for Kottaras. I loved it. Fans of Eleanor & Park might like it, even though the romance isn’t really a central component. I think Viviana shares a lot of the qualities that drew me to Eleanor.

Recommended for Ages 13 up.

Cultural Elements
Vivi’s mother is Russian and Jewish. Her best friend Sammie is Filipino. Viviana has been suffering panic attacks. A neighbor is schizophrenic.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used with moderate frequency.

Romance/Sexual Content
While Vivi dated a boy named Dean, she sent him a picture of herself naked. After they broke up, he distributed the picture to the whole school. Vivi kisses another boy several times.

Spiritual Content
Vivi and a friend help a schizophrenic man. They also debate whether love exists. Her friend says yes, though Vivi’s less certain. Vivi’s friend Sammie follows horoscopes and believes they come true. Another friend says it’s bogus.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
Vivi recalls a party years ago at which she drank a beer, her one and only ever. Later she and some friends go to a college dorm where some other kids have been drinking. They don’t associate much with anyone who’s been drinking though.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

 

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Review: The Homecoming by Stacie Ramey

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

The Homecoming
Stacie Ramey
Sourcebooks Fire
Available November 1, 2016

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Trouble with the law sends John back to his mom’s house, a place he hasn’t lived since a year after his brother’s accident. Still reeling from his girlfriend’s death, John’s only plan is to keep his head down until he’s served out his time. Then he’s California bound. Connections, especially with a girl, are the last thing he needs. But as the issues he once left behind begin to catch up with John at home, he finds that his usual retreats—pot and alcohol—aren’t enough. As the pressure builds, John must make a choice: to face the terrible truth about his past or let it destroy him and his family again.

The Homecoming is pretty much exactly the kind of novel I love reading. While John’s coping strategies aren’t my favorite in literature, I can’t help but root for a guy like him. He has a great heart, which we saw a little bit of in Ramey’s earlier novel, The Sister Pact, which describes some of his relationship with Leah from Leah’s sister’s point-of-view. Speaking of sisters, I love John’s relationship with his little sister and found it super endearing.

I liked that the story dealt with issues of family. John’s brother is disabled, and the family struggles a lot with how to manage his care. He’s not a perfectly likeable guy, either, which I found to be different than we often see in literature. His family clearly loved him, but it wasn’t always easy.

A couple of other interesting elements: John discovers a talent for architecture and begins learning the CAD program in a class. It’s a bright moment for him. At his dad’s insistence, he joins the lacrosse team, which also turns out to be a good thing for him. So several scenes show him exploring both of those interests which are a bit unusual for YA. I liked that.

If you like tragic-yet-hopeful contemporary YA, this is definitely a book you should check out.

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Cultural Elements
Major characters are all white middle class. John’s brother is disabled.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used with moderate frequency.

Romance/Sexual Content
John reflects on having been with a number of girls since Leah’s death, but that those relationships were superficial and didn’t touch his heart. He and one girl begin making out and retreat to her room to have sex but are interrupted. At the time, she states that she wants to have a casual relationship with him.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
John’s brother Ryan punches family members and injures them. A car accident injures a boy. Another accident injures a woman and her adult son. During a lacrosse game, another player makes unkind comments to John and other players take turns going after the guy. No detailed descriptions of violence or injuries.

Drug Content
John smokes pot and drinks alcohol, sometimes alone and sometimes with others.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

 

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Review: Bone Sparrow by Zana Fraillon

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Bone Sparrow
Zana Fraillon
Disney-Hyperion
Available November 1, 2016

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Every night, Subhi slips out of the compound in the refugee camp and finds the treasures he believes the magical Night Sea brings him from his far away father. Every morning he shows the gifts to his mother, now barely responsive. Subhi has only known life within the fences of the permanent detention center. Up the hill from the center lives a girl named Jimmie who bears her own grief. She comforts herself with her mother’s necklace pendant, a sparrow carved from bone. She meets Subhi, and begs him to read her mother’s journal to her. Subhi shares the pages, filled with stories and songs as magical as the ones his mother once told. As conditions worsen for both Jimmie and Subhi, each must find courage, as the characters from the songs and stories of their mothers did.

Bone Sparrow is one of those stories that will haunt you. From the first page, the beautiful narrative sucked me in. I immediately loved both Jimmie and Subhi and the colorful cast of characters in and out of the detention center. It reminded me very much of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, and left me reeling much the same way that story did.

The latter part of the tale shows some pretty intense violence. Up until that point it felt like a solid, literary middle grade read, but the heaviness of that violence made me reconsider whether that’s really where the book belongs. Bone Sparrow definitely deserves a place on the shelf with John Boyne’s acclaimed novel and others that shine a light on world issues, like Blue Gold by Elizabeth Stewart and Over a Thousand Hills I Walk With You by Hanna Jansen.

What really left me speechless was the fact that the conditions Subhi and his family endure in the detention center are in fact based on real situations and reports. The way the Rohingya people have been treated in these camps is unbelievable. I’ve continued to read more about the people and their refugee status. I know that’s a very polarizing idea right now, but I encourage you to look up more information. I’ll post links below the content section of this review.

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Cultural Elements
Jimmie and her family are Australian. Subhi is part of a group of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, once Burma.

Note: The Rohingya people have been denied rights to citizenship by the Myanmar government and driven out or killed. Many live in refugee camps like the one described in this book.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
When a sparrow lands on Subhi’s bed, his sister warns him that this warns of death. At night Subhi believes a magical Night Sea brings him gifts from his father, who lives far away.

Brief mention of Gods in the stories written by Jimmie’s mother. The bone sparrow necklace plays a role in the stories, guiding a man to his lost love and offering protection.

Violent Content
Horrible conditions plague the refugees in the camp. Some begin a hunger strike, sewing their mouths closed. Refugees barricade themselves in one quarter. A fire starts. Soldiers and refugees fight. Subhi witnesses a soldier beat a boy to death.

Drug Content
None.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Links for More Information about the Rohingya

From the Council on Foreign Relations – The Rohingya Migrant Crisis

From Amnesty International: Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh

From CNN- How Asia’s worst refugee crisis isn’t over yet

From the Chicago Tribune- some Rohingya refugees find home in Chicago

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Review: The Row by J. R. Johansson

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,

The Row
J. R. Johansson
Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
Available October 11, 2016

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About The Row

A death sentence. A family torn apart. One girl’s hunt for the truth.

Seventeen-year-old Riley Beckett is no stranger to prison. Her father is a convicted serial killer on death row who has always maintained that he was falsely accused. Riley has never missed a single visit with her father. She wholeheartedly believes that he is innocent.

Then, a month before the execution date, Riley’s world is rocked when, in an attempt to help her move on, her father secretly confesses to her that he actually did carry out the murders. He takes it back almost immediately, but she cannot forget what he’s told her. Determined to uncover the truth for her own sake, she discovers something that will forever change everything she’s believed about the family she loves.

My Review

This was one of those books where every time I thought I knew what was going on, there was some new layer that turned everything upside down. I love books like that, so I definitely enjoyed that element. I loved Riley right from the beginning and especially liked Jordan and his cute little brother Matthew, too. I thought the connection between them definitely added a lot of tension. I liked that Riley made her own search for truth.

The only thing that bothered me about the story was Riley’s voice. I kept forgetting that she was supposed to be seventeen and hearing her as much younger, like fourteen or fifteen. On the whole that didn’t disrupt my ability to get caught up in the story. I liked the characters enough to overlook it.

The Row is a great book for suspense or mystery readers. It definitely had some unexpected surprises for me. If you like Jennifer Lynn Barnes series The Naturals, you definitely want to read this one.

Recommended Ages: 14 up

Cultural Elements
Riley and her parents are white. Jordan and his family are Hispanic.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
A few brief kisses. Some vague discussion about a man who had an affair.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Some brief descriptions of injuries to murder victims. A man attacks a woman and a boy. He breaks bones and stabs the woman in the stomach. He makes it clear that he intends to kill them both. Two men are shot.

Drug Content
Riley learns disturbing news and gets drunk. Later her mother does the same thing.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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