Category Archives: Contemporary

Review: The Unlikely Debut of Ellie Sweet by Stephanie Morrill

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The Unlikely Debut of Ellie Sweet
Stephanie Morrill
Playlist Fiction
Published October 13, 2013

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The day of Ellie’s book debut draws near, and the pressure is on. On top of school and family commitments, Ellie’s editor presses for detailed revisions. Instead of support and cheerleading, Ellie’s best writing buddy has gone AWOL, and her boyfriend Chase doesn’t seem to understand how much work writing can be or how important it is to Ellie.

Tension between Ellie and Chase only rises as he pushes her to spend more time with his friends and their short-term girlfriends. While Ellie believes in the goodness of Chase’s heart and his ability to succeed, he only sees his tarnished reputation. He expects Ellie to bail on the relationship at every turn. Ellie tries to reassure him, but maybe her love isn’t enough to get through to him.

Her relationship with Chase isn’t the only complicated cross-gender issue, either. Now that she and Chase have made things official, Palmer (the guy who was previously too cool to date Ellie publicly) follows her with longing in his eyes. Ellie tries to be friends, but even that spirals into emotions too confusing to sort.

Like her other novels, Stephanie Morrill captures the fresh, perky world of YA, bringing wit and emotional depth to this fantastic story. Ellie’s conflicted relationship with boys really reflects moments on the journey each of us make in learning what makes a successful (or unsuccessful) relationship. She also learns about pride and how one’s choices can injure others. She discovers the pain of humbling oneself to offer apology and the sweet release that comes with such humility.

This sequel to The Revised Life of Ellie Sweet will not disappoint fans and has a lot to offer both teens and aspiring writers alike.

Language Content
None.

Sexual Content
Ellie overhears her boyfriend tell his pals that they’ve been having sex. While the boyfriend has been a little “handsier” than usual lately, sex is a line Ellie sure hasn’t crossed.

Spiritual Content
Ellie and her family are a wholesome, church-going family. Ellie clearly believes the values and spiritual precepts she has been taught in church and tries to walk them out in her life, but the story doesn’t focus on a lot of spiritual content as much as display the principles through the plot and each character’s response to situations the story places them in.

Violence
None.

Drug Content
Despite his claims to Ellie that he’ll behave, Chase seems easily drawn into his friends’ habits of smoking pot and drinking. Ellie does not condone or participate.

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

About Stephanie Morrill

website | facebook | twitter

Stephanie Morrill lives in Overland Park, Kansas with her husband and two kids. Her only talents are reading, writing, and drinking coffee, so career options were somewhat limited. Fortunately she discovered a passion for young adult novels and has been writing them ever since.

Stephanie is the author of The Reinvention of Skylar Hoyt series, The Revised Life of Ellie Sweet, and the award-winning Go Teen Writers: How to Turn Your First Draft into a Published Book. She enjoys encouraging and teaching teen writers on her blog, www.GoTeenWriters.com.

Review: Running Lean by Diana L Sharples

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Running Lean
Diana L. Sharples
HarperCollins/Blink
Published August 6, 2013

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Haunted by a cruel playground song, Stacey is determined never to be fat again. With her best friend Zoe, she embarks on a rigid diet, rejecting the high-calorie, deep-fried southern dishes her family seems to thrive on. But just when Stacey has it all under control, a fainting spell alerts her boyfriend Calvin that things aren’t as well-ordered as they seem. Stacey brushes off the event as “female problems” and hopes Calvin will just forget it.

Calvin just wants Stacey to be okay, and he’s willing to pay just about any price to make that so. He endeavors to support her, but his own emotions become increasingly strained as his bike – and through it his way of coping with life – begins to fall apart. Though Calvin wants to believe he can love and encourage Stacey through her insecurities, it becomes impossible to ignore the downward spiral her life is taking. Calvin isn’t sure he can push her into recovery without breaking her.

In her brave debut, Sharples captures the raw driving intensity of emotional insecurity and the terrible tension it places on a relationship, boldly describing a tragic teen issue. The reactions of Stacey’s friends and family, the helplessness Calvin wrestles with all felt very real and true to character and life. Though a message of hope is woven through its pages, the story Running Lean isn’t dominated by its spiritual messages. Rather, each character wrestles with thoughts about and feelings toward God in his or her own timing and way.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Sexual Content
Stacey and Calvin share kisses and hold hands, but both have made a commitment to abstinence until marriage. Things get a little hot and heavy between them as Stacey’s emotions spiral further out of control and Calvin tries to reassure her of his love by pressing her physical boundaries further than she’s comfortable with. Clothes stay on, and nothing much ultimately happens before Stacey stops Calvin. There are brief references to a past sexual abuse situation. While the scars of the experience, both physically and emotionally still manifest in the victim, not a lot of detail is given about the events.

Spiritual Content
Since his brother’s death, Calvin has had difficulty thinking about spiritual things. He’s grieving and angry and offers of prayer from his friends and family only frustrate him further. As his relationship with Stacey becomes more and more strained, Calvin begins to rethink his “okay on my own” religious stance and consider asking for God’s help with the situation, since he’s way past knowing what to do on his own.

Violence
None.

Drug Content
Stacey visits a party at which alcohol is present. She doesn’t drink anything, but others around her do.

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Review: It’s Complicated by Laura L. Smith

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It’s Complicated
Laura L. Smith
Playlist Fiction
Published March 26, 2013

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

When Claire meets a girl looking for a third and fourth college roommate, she takes a chance and accepts. Sharing a room with Hannah and her friends will be awesome. Hannah is bubbly and bright. Palmer, Hannah’s bestie is looking for friends to fill the gap that will be left when she moves away from her long-time boyfriend. Despite her excitement about being on the college soccer team, Kat is thrilled at the possibility of friends off the field. But just as roomie preparations are finally in place, the unthinkable happens, and one of the girls is raped. How can she face her new friends now? Maybe she’s too soiled to fit in with them anymore.

As the four girls juggle classes, homework, living space and boy interest, they learn they have more in common than they initially thought. And they’ll need all their strengths if they are to band together and help each other through the heartaches and hardships of freshman year at college.

When it comes to dating and relationships issues, author Laura L. Smith doesn’t mess around. Hitting heavy topics like date rape and peer pressure, she remains frank but not intensely graphic. The rape victim asks real questions and endures a grieving process. As the characters face peer pressure, they respond with realistic emotional confliction and growth. The spiritual journey by comparison begins deep for each girl, but doesn’t seem to undergo the same beautiful blossoming as the emotional journey of the girls. Spiritual themes may have been strengthened if the girls began their journeys at more varied levels of spirituality. Over all, this first novel in the Status Updates Series is a warm, fun read about having great girl friends.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Sexual Content
One of the girls is raped. The scene is brief and only a few graphic details are given. The boyfriend of another girl pressures her to have sex with him. Sexual tension between the two runs high and in a couple scenes, he touches the edges of her underpants before she stops him.

Spiritual Content
Each of the girls is a Christian, but since only two girls have known each other prior to becoming roommates, they don’t at first recognize their shared faith. Once they realize they are four Christians together, they believe God has placed them in each other’s lives to help them work through the issues they each face, particularly issues in their relationships with boys.

Violence
See sexual content.

Drug Content
A boy from the soccer team smokes something outside a coffee shop which leaves him pretty stoned. He justifies this behavior by telling Kat it’s completely legal and nowhere near as bad as some things other players do. Kat isn’t swayed by this argument. There are other brief references to college parties which include alcohol, but no central characters participate.

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

 

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Review: The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

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The Fault in Our Stars
John Green
Dutton Books
Published January 10, 2012

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Sixteen-year-old Hazel has lived the roller coaster ride of a terminal cancer diagnosis for the last three years. Now, each breath comes with a price, and she cannot go anywhere without a small portable oxygen tank in tow. Meds prevent the tumors from growing, for now.

At a weekly support group, she listens to tales of other teens fiercely battling cancer. Listens but remains apart, until the unexpected entrance of Augustus Waters.

Augustus draws Hazel out of her self-imposed seclusion with his unflappable visionary nature. He is in many ways the opposite of the quiet, brooding Hazel, and her perfect foil. As the two begin to know each other, they swap favorite novels, and Augustus falls headfirst in love with Hazel’s pick, a novel about cancer called An Imperial Affliction. As the two discuss the book, its philosophical brilliance and painfully tantalizing unanswered questions, their bond deepens.

Terrified of causing the destructive grief that must result from falling in love with someone with a terminal diagnosis, Hazel pulls away from Augustus. He pursues her relentlessly, even spending his wish from a cancer organization to take Hazel to Amsterdam to meet the author of her favorite novel (seriously, what literary lover can resist this kind of wooing? Talk about big guns.)

Amsterdam is everything and nothing Hazel could have hoped for: her dreams dashed and come true at the same time. In response, she must decide how to live her life and what she believes about herself, others, and eternity in the face of faithlessness on the part of humanity and the universe.

John Green has proved his valor as a writer worthy of tackling the deep emotional and cosmic issues with earlier novels, but this novel may yet be his most incredible work. This novel tackles the big human questions about life, love, and loss, exploring at once what they mean and how one responds to them. All this and yet the story remains poignant and breathtaking and sometimes quite hilarious. And tragic. This is another one to read with tissues handy.

Also worthy of note: The Fault in Our Stars the movie will hit the big screen in 2014.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Infrequent but extreme.

Sexual Content
Main characters watch a young couple kiss and briefly fondle over clothing. One scene (without graphic detail) implies that the characters have sex.

Spiritual Content
As the characters face the reality of their diagnoses, they wonder about and discuss what happens after death. Hazel does not believe in God or heaven. Augustus believes in a more nebulous Something beyond.

Violence
While this isn’t violent content, it is only fair to mention that there are some heavy descriptions of different medical treatments and their side effects as well as the dying process. These are critical elements to the story, but some sensitive readers may find them too intense.

Drug Content
Augustus has an unusual habit of hanging a cigarette from his mouth which he never lights, but instead revels in the metaphoric significance of this action. Gus and Hazel sip champagne over a fancy dinner. Hazel and Augustus undergo various cancer treatments involving different types of medications.

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Review: Glass Girl by Laura Anderson Kurk

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Glass Girl
Laura Anderson Kurk
Playlist Young Adult Fiction
Published December 5, 2013

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About Glass Girl

On a day that began like any other, Meg’s brother Wyatt dies. Suddenly. Violently. Leaving Meg and her parents to creep around the shrapnel and gaping wounds of their grief. In a pitch to create some space for healing, Meg’s dad moves them all from their Pittsburgh home to the wilds of Chapin, Wyoming. In a new home scrubbed of memories, Meg tries to create a new life, one that does not include the story of her brother’s death and the pity which must come as a response. She lands a new part time job and falls in with new friends. When a rugged, handsome cowboy begins to pursue her, Meg puts on her best face, burying her tragic past and her mother’s spiraling depression beneath a determined exterior.

Henry is patient, but he senses something isn’t right and urges Meg to open up to him. But how can a perfect boy from a perfect family understand what Meg and her parents are going through? Meg’s parents’ marriage crumbles around her, but she fights to keep a brave face, biting back the angry words she wants to shout at her mother and keeping even Henry at a distance. Rumors about a relationship between Henry and a blond girl swirl through town, and dark-haired Meg isn’t sure what to think. As she wrestles with her grief and whether to trust Henry, more rumors swirl, and Meg must face her town and her sadness anew as word about Wyatt’s death spreads across Chapin.

My Review

GLASS GIRL is a beautiful story of a girl who has lost not only her brother but faces the terrible toll grief has taken on her family. Meg’s emotions are vivid and gripping, as are the relationships she has with each of her parents and friends. The rugged Wyoming countryside provides the perfect backdrop for both the tumultuous feel of the emotional story and the golden-hearted cowboy who teaches Meg about courage, compassion and mercy. This is a novel that demands to be finished once it is begun. Tissues are a must.

Content Notes for Glass Girl

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Sexual Content
References to teen couples making out. Main characters treat each other with honor and respect, but there’s definitely some high romantic tension.

Spiritual Content
After her brother’s unexpected death, Meg can’t follow a life of faith any longer. She can’t understand how God could exist and allow terrible things to happen. It is less painful to choose to believe He does not exist. Henry’s faith is fervent and rock-solid, though his actions often speak of his values and beliefs much more than his words could.

Violence
Meg’s brother Wyatt was violently killed. Meg suffers brief flashbacks to the event, but no gory details are given, though the scenes are intense.

Drug Content
Some teens indulge in alcoholic beverages at a party. Others smoke pot. Main characters do not condone or participate in these behaviors.

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

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Review: Victoria and the Ghost by Janet K. Brown

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Victoria and the Ghost
Janet K. Brown
4RV Publishing
Published June 28, 2012

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

As if her parents’ ugly divorce wasn’t bad enough, fifteen-year-old Victoria Peterson is yanked away from her whole world in Dallas and plopped down on a rundown farm in a teeny tiny north Texas town. No more good friends a few minutes away, no more fancy city life, and no more Mom nearby to dry her tears. Her older sister Marcy seems to be settling in fine, but the only friend Victoria has been able to find is as fickle as the Texas wind. Victoria retreats to the beautiful cemetery garden for solitude, but even there her peace is disturbed by strange happenings. A mysterious voice. Objects disappearing. Town rumor says a ghost inhabits the grave yard. As a Believer, Victoria isn’t sure what to make of that, but she can’t deny that something strange is occurring. As she meets others who’ve had similar experiences in the grave yard, she begins tenuous bonds with the townspeople.

Of course, it’s all temporary. Once Mom gets back from her month-long honeymoon, she’ll call wanting the girls to come and live with her. Then it’s back to the city and all her friends for Victoria. No more of this awful country stuff. As days tick past and the call doesn’t come, Victoria begins to wonder if her mother will come through at all. She’s always been Mom’s favorite. Why is it taking so long for her to reach her?

When Mom finally calls, she invites both the girls for a visit. When Marcy and Victoria arrive at their mother’s new mansion home, neither is prepared for the venomous surprise that awaits them in the form of their new step-sister, Crystal. Rude and manipulative, Crystal is determined to be queen of the castle, and she’s not leaving room for anyone else. Mom and her new husband Sam seem oblivious to Crystal’s conniving ways. Rejected and discouraged, Victoria returns to her dad’s farm. How will she ever get out of the country now?

A health crisis and a threatening letter send Victoria’s world deeper into a spiral. Only by banding together and accepting help from others can she ever hope to survive, especially with her mother being so distant. Victoria must learn to accept life and those around her as is, but how can she learn to trust anyone when she is let down at every turn?

Divorce is one of the most difficult events a child can be asked to overcome. As Victoria struggles to make sense of both her parents’ behavior, she often feels sad and unwanted and cannot understand why her parents act as they do. As she learns about forming new relationships with others, she reflects on the relationships with her parents and begins to see their behavior in a new way. Perhaps Dad is really grieving; maybe Mom feels rejected. She also learns the value of forgiveness and community. Author Janet K Brown draws readers in to the small Texas town, filled with western-style characters and close-knit community feel. In a few places, the narrative seems to zoom out, telling readers what Victoria really means or is experiencing, more often it feels true to the teen experience. Readers who’ve experienced a difficult move to a new place or been through a family divorce will enjoy this story and its messages of hope and healing.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Characters discuss living a life of Christian love and forgiveness. Victoria wonders whether ghosts exist, a question echoed by others in her life. Characters conclude that God can do anything, even use a ghost for his purposes.

Violence
References to an arson plot. A boy shows up at a party looking like he’s been in a fight.

Drug Content
Some kids appear to be drinking alcohol at a party. They are not welcome, and the main character does not associate with them.

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

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