Tag Archives: grief

Review: It’s Over by Laura L. Smith

Book Review and Content, Christian World-View, Clean Fiction, Contemporary, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , ,

It’s Over
Laura L. Smith
Playlist Fiction
Published April 14, 2013

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Tragedy greets Kat when she arrives home from college for fall break. Though her three roomies band together in support, Kat can barely find the strength to move through the motions of her life. Claire, still reeling from her own injuries of heart, seems to be the only one who can reach Kat. As Thanksgiving draws closer, each girl faces a shift in an important relationship, and as Claire suggested, each attempts to discover something to be thankful for amidst the rubble that remains. Palmer fields not-so-subtle comments on her waistline from her mother and expertly blocks her boyfriend’s attempts for sex. But can she stay pure and stay with Keegan?  As in the first book, the four roommates draw strength from one another, support each other and encourage each other in faith.

Smith carries readers through a rainbow of expertly rendered emotions, from happy holiday celebrations to the deepest of heartache and the purest dawning of hope. Each of the girls has a distinct voice with a different perspective. This is a great series for the reader looking for some fun, lighthearted moments and open to the deeper lessons life has to offer.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Sexual Content
A short but steamy make-out session between a girl and her boyfriend. A discussion between two sisters about making a commitment to save sex until marriage.

Spiritual Content
Following an unexpected tragedy, Kat wrestles with feelings of anger and betrayal toward God. Palmer struggles to maintain boundaries with her eager-for-sex boyfriend, and faces the possibility that perhaps this relationship isn’t God’s plan for her life after all.
Violence
Brief references to injuries sustained in a car accident.

Drug Content
Kat smells pot smoke in her cousin’s room.

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

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Review: Canary by Rachele Alpine

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Canary
Rachele Alpine
Medallion Press
Published

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Sixteen year-old Kate still reels from the recent loss of her mother. Now she and her brother Brett communicate with their emotionally-absent father through a series of post-it notes. When Dad lands a new job as basketball coach at a ritzy private school, he opts to transfer both kids to the new school.

Kate, determined to adjust and desperate to reconnect with her father, begins attending basketball practices and cheering from the stands. That’s when she meets Jack, a gorgeous and popular star player and boyfriend of any girl’s dreams. But the thrill of being Jack’s girlfriend soon loses its shine when she discovers several unsavory habits of his. Jack pressures and Kate bends, pressing herself into the mold he expects her to be. Then with one drink, everything changes. Those who should protect her wound her instead, and Kate begins to unravel.

But beneath her tumultuous emotions and failing hope, Kate finds a steel resolve within herself. Instead of being destroyed by bullying, she finds her voice and dares to make herself heard, no matter the consequences.

Canary is a raw and beautiful story. At intervals, Kate’s often poetic and poignant blog posts appear, adding another layer of depth to an already fascinating story reminiscent of Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak or Sarah Dessen’s Just Listen. Fans of Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher may also enjoy this novel and its bold attention to the devastating problem of bullying in schools and communities today.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
No F-bombs, but regular use of other swear words.

Sexual Content
Several references to sex and some jokes about aberrant sexual behavior. A girl discusses pressure to engage in sex with her boyfriend. She succumbs to his persistent requests. At a party, a boy drugs and attempts to rape a girl who is barely able to fight him off. The scene is pretty brief and without a heavy number of details. The instance sparks rumors, rude comments, and general mistreatment toward the victim.

Spiritual Content
Brief reference to heaven in the context of a funeral conversation.

Violence
During the assault, the boy shoves the girl, bruising her. Several boys bully another boy in the cafeteria. Students also harass the assault victim.

Drug Content
Several scenes features parties at which teens consume alcohol. A boy slips a drug into a girl’s drink, rendering her disoriented and helpless.

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

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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

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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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