Friday, November 29, 2019

In a Nutshell Reviews: YA Edition


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

Our Wayward Fate
Gloria Chao
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Rating:  5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
Seventeen-year-old Ali Chu knows that as the only Asian person at her school in middle-of-nowhere Indiana, she must be bland as white toast to survive. This means swapping her congee lunch for PB&Js, ignoring the clueless racism from her classmates and teachers, and keeping her mouth shut when people wrongly call her Allie instead of her actual name, pronounced Āh-lěe, after the mountain in Taiwan.

Her autopilot existence is disrupted when she finds out that Chase Yu, the new kid in school, is also Taiwanese. Despite some initial resistance due to the "they belong together" whispers, Ali and Chase soon spark a chemistry rooted in competitive martial arts, joking in two languages, and, most importantly, pushing back against the discrimination they face.

But when Ali’s mom finds out about the relationship, she forces Ali to end it. As Ali covertly digs into the why behind her mother’s disapproval, she uncovers secrets about her family and Chase that force her to question everything she thought she knew about life, love, and her unknowable future.

Snippets of a love story from nineteenth-century China (a retelling of the Chinese folktale The Butterfly Lovers) are interspersed with Ali’s narrative and intertwined with her fate.
Ali's mother had one rule for dating - he must be Asian. Being the only Asian kid in town, Ali was therefore, never going to be allowed to date. But, then, Chase showed up, and Ali wanted to resist her attraction to him. Would she be able to resist or would she give in to her wayward fate?
  • Pro: I was such an Ali fan. She was witty and snarky, and I especially loved when she was Ali to the Nth degree once Chase came along. 
  • Pro: OMG, Chase! From his first on page with Ali, I was hooked. He grew up in such a different environment, and I liked that he challenged those around him, and encouraged Ali to speak up for herself. He was not only her love interest, but he was her ally. 
  • Pro: Chao did an incredible job helping me understand Ali's feelings of isolation. It pained me, that Ali believed she had to give up or hide parts of herself to survive in her hometown. My heart ached for her, and I think that's why I was so elated once Chase became part of her world. 
  • Pro: Though I did not initially understand the connection to The Butterfly Lovers, it because more clear as I learned what Ali's mother was hiding And, wow! I totally didn't see that coming. The story took quite a turn, and it was an interesting one. 
  • Pro: Chao gave me what I needed with respect to Ali's family. They were super dysfunctional, and it was painful being in their home. Chao tempered it with some lovely flashbacks, and also some fabulous resolutions. I had a lot of hope for Ali, her mom, and her dad by the end of the story, and that's important to me. 
  • Pro: This story takes on family dysfunction, racism, isolation, and the downside of family culture, but those who know me won't be surprised to learn it was the romance that stood out for me. Ali and Chase were fantastic together. The banter and feisty exchanges never failed to make me smile. They challenged each other so much, but they got gooey too, and it was fun to see someone like Ali sporting heart-eyes. 
Overall: Once again, Gloria Chao delivered a heartfelt and funny tale of east meets west, which featured a complex family dynamic and a really sweet romance.



Maybe This Time
Kasie West
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Point
Rating:  4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
One year. Nine events. Nine chances to . . . fall in love?

Weddings. Funerals. Barbecues. New Year's Eve parties. Name the occasion, and Sophie Evans will be there. Well, she has to be there. Sophie works for the local florist, so she can be found at every big event in her small hometown, arranging bouquets and managing family dramas.

Enter Andrew Hart. The son of the fancy new chef in town, Andrew is suddenly required to attend all the same events as Sophie. Entitled, arrogant, preppy Andrew. Sophie just wants to get her job done and finish up her sketches so she can apply to design school. But every time she turns around, there is Andrew, getting in her way and making her life more complicated. Until one day she wonders if maybe complicated isn't so bad after all . . .

Told over the course of one year and following Sophie from event to event, this delightful novel from master of romantic comedy Kasie West shows how love can blossom in unexpected places.
Sophie had always kept her eyes on the prize, which was escaping her small town life. She dreamed of studying design in New York, and if she could get there, everything would be better. Over the course of a year, Sophie learned a lot about floral arrangements, party planning, her family, her friends, her dreams, and herself.
  • Pro: I spent my teen years in a small town, and will forever have a special place in my heart for them. Maybe Sophie was tired of her small town life, but I adored the setting, and loved getting to share their community events with them. 
  • Pro: Micah was such a wonderful friend. Micah was a constant in Sophie's life, and was a really important support system for her, especially when her own family sort of fell apart. Not only did she give offer friendship to Sophie, but she was her biggest cheerleader and encouraged her to pursue her design dreams. 
  • Pro: Is it wrong, that I was a fan of when Sophie was proven wrong? She had a lot of preconceived notions about people and things, and I liked when something was revealed, which  contradicted her notions. I liked being surprised by people, and West did a nice job layering these characters, so that I was treated to many pleasant surprises. 
  • Pro: They banter and interplay between Sophie and Andrew was quite enjoyable. They did that enemies thing quite well, and I was onboard with them as a couple. 
  • Con: Everyone knows I love Kasie West books, but my chief complaint about her last few was that there was not enough of the romance. She gave her fantastic love interests, but spent very little time exploring that. This one was just about 9 months of will-they-won't-they, and I just wished there had been more time to enjoy these two as a couple. 
  • Pro: Sophie grew tremendously over the course of this book. I was so pleased with how she resolved her feelings about her parents, her town, and her future. She realized a lot of things about some people, who were very important to her, but also about herself. 
Overall: This was a solid addition to West's body of work with a fantastic focus on family, friendship, and personal growth.


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

30 comments:

  1. I haven't seen Our Wayward Fate before but it sure sounds great! West's new book is one that my daughter has her eye on, it sounds really good.

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    1. I was so sad, when I rejected for this book, because I adored Chao's debut. It surpassed my expectations, which is always a good thing. West's books are always good. I never have any regrets when I read them.

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  2. I love books that exlore the dynamics of Asian families, and the way they can be similar or different from quote- unquote "Western" families. Our Wayward Fate sounds great.

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    1. Chao really did a deep dive with respect to that, but I found the isolation Ali felt being one of the only Asian students in her school even more compelling. Definitely insightful.

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  3. OUR WAYWARD FATE sounds really good. I'm behind on my Kasie West reading, but I do like her romances because they're quick, cute, and clean. I think MAYBE THIS TIME has already been nominated for a Whitney, so I'll probably end up reading it for that.

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    1. Our Wayward Fate was better than I expected, and I had expected to like it from my pervious experience with the author. I haven't ever not liked a Kasie West book. Like you said, they are always cute, and I always like the journey the characters takes.

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  4. Our Wayward Fate sounds wonderful. I like the historical side-plot element to it. Kasie West can be hit or miss for me and I agree that the last couple I've read have left me wanting more on the romance front.

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    1. Apparently, The Butterfly Lovers is a well known folk tale, which is quite tragic, but Chao took some liberties with it to make it more hopeful. Yes, I wanted more of the romance, but I didn't have any issues with what was there. In fact, I liked the characters together so much, I would have liked to observe them as a couple for a bit more time.

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  5. I haven't tried either of these authors before. Both of the books sound good to me.

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    1. I was happy when I finished them both, which is my measure of success

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  6. I think these are my favorite kind of reads Sam!!!

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    1. I really am looking for a good time when I read and to feel something. Both delivered.

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  7. Maybe This Time was my first Kasie West book - I liked the structure, but yeah, there wasn't a whole lot of growth in the romance. I thought Andrew and Micah actually had more chemistry! And I also liked when Sophie was proven wrong - I actually hated most of the adults in this book at the beginning because of the way she saw them, so I liked that we eventually got to see different sides of them.

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    1. Andrew and Micah had a different sort of chemistry, and I could see that friendship being more solid, because they spent a lot of time together, while the interactions between Sophie and Andrew were more intermittent. I could still see there was something there. It was just an extremely slow burn, and I really would have liked a bit more time with them as a couple, though, the future did look good for them.

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  8. Kasie West is an author I've been meaning to try for ages. Her books, including this one, always sound so good.

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    1. She's another author on my lighter-side, super cute list. Even my least favorite books by her were good. I have been left wanting a bit more, but never not liking any part of what was in the story.

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  9. Okay, I really want to know what Ali's mother is hiding. Very tempted by that one. I do need to give Kasie West another try. I read one of her books and thought it was okay but wasn't blown away but everything does sound really good. Great reviews!

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    1. I was surprised by that part of the storyline, and I liked how BIG it became. Of West's recent books, Listen to Your Heart was probably my favorite, but I adored all her older books. I mean, she has never gotten below 4 stars from me, I just feel there hasn't been enough romance in her more recent books.

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  10. Our Wayward Fate sounds like a lovely romance and when culture comes into contemporary, I am always so happy to read it and discover more. I still can't believe I haven't read a Kasie West novel yet. I even own a few on my kindle but need to get round to it DD:

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    1. Wayward Fate was so good. I feel like the book didn't get much buzz, but the character were so good, and the story was great too.

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  11. Oh these two sound really good! I liked American Panda a whole lot and can't wait to read more by the author, so I'm eager to discover Our Wayward Fate :D

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    1. I actually liked Wayward Fate more than American Panda (which I had really loved). I hope you get a chance to read it, because Ali and Chase were fabulous!

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  12. Oasis West is such a hit or ,issues author for me and it sucks there wasn't enough romance in this but I'm glad you still enjoyed it all the same. When she's doing good she writes really good YA that I easily get sucked into and I'm hoping this will be one of them.

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    1. The book was still good, because she always has these heartwarming stories with family and friendship taking center stage. I absolutely enjoyed this book, I just love romance, and wanted more of it, because the coupling was actually great.

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  13. Ah that's a pity about the romance lacking in maybe this time- I've had this happen with a couple of West's books before as well. But it's good to know about the fantastic focus on family and friendship. Awesome reviews!

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    1. Her last few have been too light on the romance. She still writes a great book with featuring friendship, family, and a lot of self growth, but I will always want that romance to get a bit more time in the story.

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  14. I have Maybe This Time on my tbr! It sounds absolutely adorable and I love small towns too. I grew up in one and now I'm raising my kiddos in one. I'm always love when a story I read takes place in one.
    Jen @ Star-Crossed Book Blog

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    1. I went from Brooklyn to a 1-square-mile town for high school. It was culture shock, but I look back on it fondly. As a parent, I think a small town is a nice place to raise children.

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