Monday, January 15, 2018

In a Nutshell Reviews

In a Nutshell Reviews are my version of mini-reviews, because sometimes, you just want the highlights.

Nice Try, Jane Sinner
Lianne Oelke
Series: n/a
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Clarion Books
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
The only thing 17-year-old Jane Sinner hates more than failure is pity. After a personal crisis and her subsequent expulsion from high school, she’s going nowhere fast. Jane’s well-meaning parents push her to attend a high school completion program at the nearby Elbow River Community College, and she agrees, on one condition: she gets to move out.

Jane tackles her housing problem by signing up for House of Orange, a student-run reality show that is basically Big Brother, but for Elbow River Students. Living away from home, the chance to win a car (used, but whatever), and a campus full of people who don't know what she did in high school… what more could she want? Okay, maybe a family that understands why she’d rather turn to Freud than Jesus to make sense of her life, but she'll settle for fifteen minutes in the proverbial spotlight.

As House of Orange grows from a low-budget web series to a local TV show with fans and shoddy T-shirts, Jane finally has the chance to let her cynical, competitive nature thrive. She'll use her growing fan base, and whatever Intro to Psychology can teach her, to prove to the world—or at least viewers of substandard TV—that she has what it takes to win.
I actually pushed this one up my TBR, because I kept seeing reviewers EVERYWHERE talking about how uproariously funny this book was. You know what? It was as funny as everyone said it was.
  • Pro: Jane was hilarious. She was wry, witty, and fluent in sarcasm. She was a keen observer, who didn't sugarcoat, and her observations were fabulous. Loved her!! Note: for those of you who get my reference, she totally reminded me of Daria, who I also loved. 
  • Pro: Siblings!! I adored Jane and her younger sister, Carol. You could see the mutual admiration they had for each other, and it was a very lovely sisterly bond they shared. Carol was much more open about her feelings, but Jane gave a little here and there, and she eventually did something major, because she cared so much for Carol. 
  • Pro: There were so many issues explored and I really enjoyed being there with Jane as she worked her way through. Jane tackled mental health issues, a crisis of faith, strained familial relationships, a failed romance, and issues with her friends. She was also trying to get her life back on track after her "personal crisis and her subsequent expulsion". There were many times I worried if she would give up, but she was determined to make this new opportunity work and to prove to herself and everyone else, that she cold do it. 
  • Pro: The reality show, House of Orange, was fantastic. From the dynamic in the house to Jane's phycological experiments on the other players. I have watched quite a few reality competition shows in my lifetime, and this one was a great amalgam of many of my faves. It had all those signature elements I love and was terribly fun. 
  • Pro: There were a few fabulous female friendships in the book. My faves were between Jane and her best friend, Bonnie, and between Jane and Jenna, which was unexpected. 
  • Pro: Maybe we didn't get to know the auxiliary characters that well, but I adored each and every one of their quirks. They all had something quite unique about them, which delighted me and added to the fun. 
  • Pro: I laughed every time Jane intentionally butchered an idiom just to get a rise from her father. It was harmless, but he took the bait every time. 
  • Pro: I am a fan of alternate formats and really liked that this story was told through Jane's journal entries. Jane's narrative is interspersed snippets of conversations and, it worked really well for me. I especially liked how Oelke let the drama unfold, only letting us know bits and pieces of why Jane was expelled. When I finally got the whole story, my heart pretty much cracked in half for her. 
  • Pro: This is Jane's climb back from the depths of despair and failure, and I love that the ending is so positive. 

Jane totally reminded me of Daria

Overall: I so enjoyed accompanying Jane on her rocky road to recovery. It was filled with humor as well as thoughtful reflection. A solid debut, which has me looking forward to reading more of Oelke's work.

The Upside of Falling Down 
Rebekah Crane
Series: n/a
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Skyscape
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
For Clementine Haas, finding herself is more than a nice idea. Ever since she woke up in an Irish hospital with complete amnesia, self-discovery has become her mission.

They tell her she’s the lone survivor of a plane crash. They tell her she’s lucky to be alive. But she doesn’t feel lucky. She feels…lost.

With the relentless Irish press bearing down on her, and a father she may not even recognize on his way from America to take her home, Clementine assumes a new identity and enlists a blue-eyed Irish stranger, Kieran O’Connell, to help her escape her forgotten life…and start a new one.

Hiding out in the sleepy town of Waterville, Ireland, Clementine discovers there’s an upside to a life that’s fallen apart. But as her lies grow, so does her affection for Kieran, and the truth about her identity becomes harder and harder to reveal, forcing Clementine to decide: Can she leave her past behind for a new love she’ll never forget?
I was lucky to stumble upon Crane's last book, The Odds of Loving Grover Cleveland, last year, and enjoyed it immensely. Therefore, when I saw The Upside of Falling Down, I knew right away, that I had to read it, and you know what? It was utterly delightful!
"It's the upside of falling down," Kieran says. "It's why you jump in the first place...for that moment."
  • Pro: The whole theme of the book is fabulous! It's about new beginnings and possibilities. Clementine's amnesia freed her from her past, and it was so wonderful being there with her as she tried to figure out who she was and who she wanted to be. 
    I died and was reborn on June 18 in a plane crash in Ballycalla
  • Pro: I really enjoyed getting to know the people who became Clementine's inner circle. They were a very colorful group of characters, who were quite layered, and I really appreciated what they brought to the story. Clive and Stephen both won me over with their big, beautiful hearts! 
  • Pro: Kieran was a complicated guy. He was dealing with his own crisis, as he struggled with who he wanted to be and who his father wanted him to be. The Kieran I loved, was the one we saw when he temporarily left those worries for another day. He was very sweet, doting, generous, and very dedicated to those he loved. I was really pleased when we got to the bottom of his issues. 
    That's the dare I'm most afraid of - to live the life I choose.
  • Pro: I loved being in Clementine's head. There was so much going on in there, and some of her reflections were quite amusing. 
  • Pro: Though this book explores some weighty topics, it stays on the lighter side. 
  • Pro: I thought it was great the way Crane slowly revealed Clementine's memories, because it lead to a rather BIG twist, which I didn't see coming until it was more or less upon us. 
  • Pro: I adored the setting! I visited Ireland back in 2007, and Crane brought me back to all those lovely places I had visited. 
  • Pro: The ending left me with a perma-smile, so I would say it was pretty solid. 
Some pictures from my trip to Ireland.

Overall: I utterly adored this book! The fabulous characters plus the delightful setting, the sweet romance, and endless possibilities left me with a big stupid grin on my face. File it under "makes-me-happy".

Truly Devious
Maureen Johnson
Series: Truly Devious, #1
Genre: Young Adult, Mystery
Publisher: HarperCollins
Rating:  4.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
New York Times bestselling author Maureen Johnson weaves a delicate tale of murder and mystery in the first book of a striking new series, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and E. Lockhart.

Ellingham Academy is a famous private school in Vermont for the brightest thinkers, inventors, and artists. It was founded by Albert Ellingham, an early twentieth century tycoon, who wanted to make a wonderful place full of riddles, twisting pathways, and gardens. “A place,” he said, “where learning is a game.”

Shortly after the school opened, his wife and daughter were kidnapped. The only real clue was a mocking riddle listing methods of murder, signed with the frightening pseudonym “Truly, Devious.” It became one of the great unsolved crimes of American history.

True-crime aficionado Stevie Bell is set to begin her first year at Ellingham Academy, and she has an ambitious plan: She will solve this cold case. That is, she will solve the case when she gets a grip on her demanding new school life and her housemates: the inventor, the novelist, the actor, the artist, and the jokester. But something strange is happening. Truly Devious makes a surprise return, and death revisits Ellingham Academy. The past has crawled out of its grave. Someone has gotten away with murder.

The two interwoven mysteries of this first book in the Truly Devious series dovetail brilliantly, and Stevie Bell will continue her relentless quest for the murderers in books two and three.
I do not read a ton of mysteries, but when I saw that Maureen Johnson was writing a new series, I knew this was a must read for me. All I have to say is, Johnson may make a mystery reader out of me yet, because I was utterly engrossed in this story from start to finish.
  • Pro: What more can you ask for then a twofer? Johnson has two mysteries in this story, one in the present and one in the past. 
  • Pro: I thought it was brilliant the way Johnson told the story. I liked the mix of flashbacks, interviews, and oral history to deliver the backstory on the Ellingham kidnappings. They were placed really thoughtfully in the present day story too. I felt like there were parallels between the two mysteries, which were highlighted by the way the two tales were woven together. 
  • Pro: The cast of characters are pretty fantastic. They are each distinct and interesting, and I know I want to get to know them better. 
  • Pro: One of my favorite characters was Stevie. She was amusing and quirky. You don't meet a lot of kids that interested in true crime. I loved her passion for it, and am rooting for her to solve the case. 
  • Pro: The flashbacks had this classic whodunit tone, which really set the mood for me. 
  • Pro: This school was incredible! I am already a huge fan of boarding schools, but this one is in a class all its own. As a former educator, I was salivating over the personalized curriculums, but I also was won over by Vermont. 
  • Pro: The puzzle pieces were doled out so well! I collected the clues, piece by piece, and I love that I was given an opportunity to figure some things out, before they were explained to me. That's the fun of any mystery. 
  • Pro: There was a part of the storyline, that I did not quite understand, but there was a big reveal at the end, which explained it. That ending left me eager to see where this is going and gave me grabby hands for the next book. 

Overall: An intriguing page-turner filled with suspense and marvelous characters. 

Bonus: Quiz - Do you have what it takes to solve the mystery of Truly Devious?

**I would like to thank the publishers for the advanced copies of these books.









Have you read any of these books?
Let us know in the comments!

30 comments:

  1. Oh nice! I am sooo excited for Maureen's next book!! Glad to hear it was a winner! I tend to like mysteries despite my love for all things paranormal and fantasy! Mysteries just have that edge to it! It might be because I enjoyed Scooby Doo as a kid and it had monsters in it too, fake ones but we didn't know that at the time! Great mini review!

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    1. I found myself totally engrossed. For all the contemporary romance I read, I always tend to enjoy the mysteries I read, and I am a Johnson fan, which made it that much better for me.

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  2. I am so sad that my copy of Nice Try Jane Sinner expired (ugh to those protected PDFs that I have to use Bluefire Reader for; I think I am just going to say no to those and stick to kindle books). And I'm reading Truly Devious now. So glad you loved it. For some reason I didn't realize it comes out tomorrow so I've got to hurry up!
    Jen Ryland Reviews

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    1. I love the First to Read program, but they always do those protected PDFs, and Bluefire will shut down or lose my place when I am reading it. Hate them! I found the EW is always mobi, but you have to be careful on NG (at least when I have seen the book on both platforms).

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  3. I really want to read Truly Devious. It sounds so good!! Great reviews!

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  4. The Upside of Falling Down sounds really cute, and I love the Ireland setting! Beautiful pictures!

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    1. I am so happy I had the opportunity to visit Ireland. So gorgeous! I thought the book was very fun and sweet and thought provoking without being heavy.

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  5. i heard a lot of great things about maureen johnson's books and i'm really excited to read truly devious because i'm a sucker for boarding school setting!

    Tasya // The Literary Huntress

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    1. My first exposure to Johnson was at the release for the last TMI book, and she was so funny. I knew I had to read something by her, and was glad to see her sense of humor in all the books I have read by her. It was a cool school. There was this part, where they met with their advisors to come up with their course list, and I wished I went to a school like that.

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  6. You have sold me on The Upside of Falling Down it looks awesome! Great review! I don't think I have read anything like this.

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    1. I thought this was sweet and fun and adorable, while it still explored some deeper issues. The characters just won my heart, and Crane took us to a bunch of places I had visited on my trip.

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  7. I actually just started reading Nice Try, Jane Sinner earlier this morning, and I found myself laughing several times already. I too have seen bloggers talking about this book constantly. The other two you mentioned weren't really on my TBR list, but after reading your reviews I think I might add them and check them out. Great reviews!

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    1. Jane Sinner is a fabulous and funny heroine. Loved her! Johnson is always a good read for me, and a mystery is a little change of pace for me, which added to my enjoyment. The tone of the flashbacks was so spot on. I found myself reading it in that classic mystery narrator voice. Upside just made me happy. Fun, adorable, sweet. I just really had fun reading it.

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  8. These all sound really good, Sam! Nice Try, Jane Sinner sounds like one that I really need to pick up. I love alternate formats and anything with humor just adds to the appeal. Glad you had so much luck with this group of books.

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    1. Jane Sinner is so funny! It has some deep introspection too, but the humor won me over.

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  9. The first two are completely new to me! Truly Devious is on my TBR and I'm so very glad to see your praising review for that one! I don't read a ton of mystery either but I love the sounds of it. :)

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    1. Jane Sinner is a debut, but it's been getting a ton of good buzz. I got Crane's first book through Amazon last year, and the cover also caught my eye. I am by no means a mystery reader, but Johnson gave us a tale with elements that can please most readers.

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  10. Three more books I've been missing out on---This is enough to make a person crazy!

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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  11. Oh wow these sound great! The only one I have on my list is Jane Sinner, but you definitely have me thinking about adding the others, especially Truly Devious, since I'd been on the fence about it. Glad these were so good, and thanks for the fabulous reviews!

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    1. Jane was hilarious, but I really liked Truly Devious and it is getting a lot of raves.

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  12. I really enjoyed Jane Sinner too. It had been a while since I had read a truly laugh out loud book so it was such a fun read for me. I haven't read the other two yet, but they sound pretty good as well.

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  13. How have I not heard of Nice Try, Jane Sinner. I think it sounds perfect. The Daria comparison is what convinced me I need to read it because I loved that show. I can totally relate to Daria, her sarcasm was spot on. The Upside of Falling Down sounds brilliant too, how do you find these books I've not heard of? I didn't think I'd like a book with amnesia but turns out it sounds brilliant. And a mystery book too? All of these books are going on my TBR.

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    1. Crane really deserves more love than she gets. Both her books were great, with Upside making my heart soar. I love those kinds of stories. Just totally feel good.

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  14. OMG, I love Daria! I actually dressed up as her for Halloween last year, haha. And stories told through journals and diaries are some of my favourites, so I guess I need to check out Nice Try, Jane Sinner ASAP. Truly Devious sounds really good too! I love Maureen Johnson.

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    1. Daria and I are kindred spirits! Jane totally embodied Daria if you ask me.

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  15. The one called Nice Try, Jane Sinner has been interesting me after I've seen it around so much! I love the premise - that sounds so fun. And all those pros, and all the hilarious elements combined with the serious themes sounds so brilliant. I have read something by Maureen Johnson before and only thought it was okay, but from what I've seen of reviews of this latest book its quite good. Glad you enjoyed these!

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    1. Jane was great! It was really her that made the book for me, though the premise was interesting as well.

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