Double Review: You Know Me Well - Nina LaCour & David Levithan

You Know Me Well
Nina LaCour & David Levithan 
Series: N/A
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, LGBT+
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

Like every other reader of YA, David Levithan has been an author I've long admired and whose work never fails to leave me reeling. I'd never read anything by Nina LaCour, however, but after this book I'll definitely be keeping tabs on her future work.

The book takes place during San Francisco Pride Week, and alternates point of view between Kate -- a senior in high school madly in love with a girl, Violet, she knows only in glimpses (pictures, descriptions, letters) -- and Mark -- a junior on the baseball team madly in love with his best friend (sometimes with benefits), Ryan, who seems to have no idea. Mark and Kate both sit next to each other in Calc but have never noticed each other until the night the book kicks off.

You Know Me Well is a really short (248 pages), light book. It doesn't have any shocking plot twists or unexpected murders or anything like that. It is what it is: a book about friendship, romance, and personal reflection. So, if you aren't into cute contemporaries, this is probably not the book for you. I, personally, thought it was a fun read with a good story.

The book jumps into the action and therefore doesn't take too long to set up who the characters are before things start to happen but they never felt undeveloped. I love the way their personalities unfold as the book goes on, but even in the beginning they are cohesively introduced. Often when I read a book I picture the characters interacting in my mind, but this time, there was something about the writing style of both point of views that made me picture myself (in the first person) experiencing all their experiences and I really liked that about the book. I was Kate, afraid of committing to something real, exploring the possibilities. I was Mark, feeling so deeply, so purely. I didn't share their specific experiences in reality but the way they were written I could find bit and pieces to relate to.

I loved exploring the friendship between Kate and Mark, as well the friendship between their respective best friends. I know some people were complaining about them being insta-friends and it not being believable but honestly I have made so many of my friends by just hitting it off in one go and just becoming close right off the bat. I don't think insta-friends is a real thing.

They had such a sweet progression of their friendship and really seemed to care about each other. Also, I found it really amusing whenever Mark would third wheel even when he didn't want to because it subverts the whole thing where characters get together and then they abandon their friends or only mention them in passing. Their friendships and their relationships were all important. Speaking of friendships, there were some hard truths with both Kate and Mark's best friends and it was sad but honest.

You Know Me Well is a pretty fast-paced book. The whole thing happens over a week and there are a decent amount of things that take place over very few pages, but I like when books move quickly. However, this can make it seem kinda...surface-level? (Not sure what word to use there to convey my meaning.) Some of it was definitely a little "this is definitely a contemporary novel and not real life" but it wasn't overly so and it didn't really bother me. I thought the ending was a little cutesy and would have liked to see a little unhappy mixed with the happy ending (not that I like seeing characters sad, just that it would be cool to have reached understandings about relationships with some people) but it was still sweet and I still enjoyed it.

Overall, I think both authors did an awesome job. Like I mentioned before, this was my first Nina LaCour book and I am interested enough to keep an eye out for anything new. While this didn't become my new favorite David Levithan book or anything, I thought it was a fun read and would definitely recommend it.

- Noor

Amrutha's review of You Know Me Well

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Hello friends! Like Noor, I have been a fan of David Levithan since the powers that be dropped him in my lap many years ago. I have also never read anything by Nina LaCour but I'd be open to reading more from her.

This book was a /super/ fast read, it took me all of a couple hours to finish it -- this is mostly where the book gets points off, I think a lot of stuff happened for just one week of action, personally there should've been a lot more hashing out of the plot for the amount that went down in this book. I love fast paced reads but too much happened for the physical amount of book there was.

So as Noor said, the book goes down during pride week where two people (Kate and Mark) fall into an instant friendship. I honestly really think instant friendships are a thing, I experience them all the time -- also, in regards to insta-love, I never have a problem with people feeling an immediate romantic connection, just when they commit their hearts and souls to each other after a weekend on a beach or something.

I really loved this book too because as Noor mentioned, both the main characters are LGBTQ+, and in even the most ~diverse~ books, there is at most, one LGBT relationship mentioned. I also really liked that they weren't questioning their sexualities, just struggling with love in general -- most of the books I've read before with LGBT characters face some sort of identity crisis. The plot of the book was nice and simple, and discussed the woes of loving friends and strangers alike, genuine friendship, and figuring yourself out. I liked how everything played out a lot, and while the character development felt a /tad/ choppy for my taste, I really resonated with the characters.

Kate and Mark were written so well, with two completely distinct voices. I loved so much how their parts flowed in with one another. Even the supporting characters, Lehna, Ryan, Quinn, and Violet all had such complex backstories and emotions that it felt like I was reading about real life, rather than two real main charcacters and a bunch of static side characters. The thing I liked the most though, was the way the book ended. I'm all for happy endings but I like when happy endings are happy in a way that I wouldn't have thought possible. I have a lot of love for this book, I just wish it was a little less choppy.

Always in love with David Levithan and looking forward to more of Nina LaCour's books!

- Amrutha

Who knows you well?
Let us know in the comments!

Double ARC Review: Court of Fives - Kate Elliott

Court of Fives
Kate Elliott
Series: Court of Fives, #1
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy,
Release Date: August 18th, 2015
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Court of Fives is an ARC we picked up at BEA, and focuses on the protagonist, Jessamy, and her struggle to compete in the Fives -- an athletic competition that someone of her social position wouldn't dare participate in. In fact, there are a decent amount of things someone "like her" shouldn't or can't do. The book is heavy with descriptions of classism and racism, both of which remain central to the story, which is about more than just the aforementioned competition -- while the Fives are interlaced throughout the book, something bigger and more sinister is happening as the story progresses.

Overall, I enjoyed the book enough to want to read the next book in the series, so I'd deem it a successful literary endeavor, though there were definitely some parts I liked more than others.

The story itself was compelling, in my opinion, even though it wasn't too complex (although I feel like in the next book in might get a little more complicated (but I'm not the author so I won't make any hasty predictions)). I was generally interested in where it was going, but at some points it did seem to drag where it seemed like not much was happening to advance the plot. Those parts were nice to read for a little while and it isn't that they were bad but I just wanted to know when I could expect a shift. Also, towards the end, I felt really tempted to skim, and I'm not sure if it was the writing or the story or if I just, again, wanted to get to get to a point where something else was happening. Something I liked about the story was that even though the story is about the Fives, it isn't totally about the Fives and they aren't the primary focus of the plot.

As for the characters, I had mixed feelings about them. I liked Jessamy's character a lot, and I liked her sisters but I thought they were very one dimensional for a lot of the book. Bettany and Maraya, two of the sisters, kindof stayed one dimensional the whole time, but Amaya showed a little bit of growth/change. They were still fun to read about and I liked them all but I just wished they were fleshed out a little bit more than "the smart sister", "the pretty sister", and "the loud sister." In fact, we see very few multifaceted characters. Everyone else is either purely good or purely bad.

Another thing I wasn't a fan of was the love story. The two just didn't seem to have a connection or have chemistry, the whole thing seemed forced and awkward. I really liked Kal's character on his own and I really liked Jes, and I didn't think it was even obnoxious or in your face -- that's actually something I'd like to commend Kate Elliott on, because if the two characters fit well together I would have really liked the way she handled the romance. However, it just didn't really work for me.

I feel like I've spent a lot of this review talking about negatives and I swear I didn't mean to, so I'll mention something I liked, which was how heavy an influence classism and racism had in the society Elliott wrote about. I know it sounds weird writing that I liked those things but what I mean is that I liked that they were included and touched upon because in a lot of fantasy books you have different species and sure, elves are better than dwarves but that's pretty abstract, and in this book it's clear that the dark skinned people are unattractive and those who sail to the new land are superior Patrons to the lowly Commoners and it just created a whole aspect of the world-building that was really cool.

Speaking of the world building, I liked the idea of it, but sometimes it was carried out in large info-dumps, like "oh hey dad why don't you tell us this story" or like sometimes Jessamy, who was narrating, would just break up chapters of action with narration of world-building, and it was a lot of info-dumping and a lot of names that I honestly forgot a lot of. It was kindof hard to keep straight and I got some of it confused so I wasn't huge on the way it was told, but at the same time, I get it because there are only so many ways to get that information across in a book this size, you know??? So I'm not too hung up on that, but I definitely liked the subtle things, like slipping in things into lines and actions of characters rather than chapters of explanation.

I know my review has made my opinion sound really mixed, but I actually got through this book really quickly because I was enjoying myself reading, so it wasn't something I forced myself to finish or that I finished so I could laugh at. I really liked the language and the actual flow of the words, which really gave the book an added flair. Despite the things I mentioned that I disliked, the story and the supporting characters pulled me through and like I mentioned earlier, it was likable enough that I would definitely read the second book in the series once it comes out (although this one isn't even officially out yet so I might have to wait a bit).

- Noor

Amrutha's Court of Fives Review
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

I really agree with Noor for most of her review: the characters were a bit one dimensional, the plot seemed to drag a tiny bit due to not being as complex as I would've liked, but all in all, the book was a fast and easy read (I read it all in one sitting), so I will definitely read the second book in the series.

That being said, let's get started. The book is, like Noor mentioned, about Jessamy and her sisters, who grow up in a lower class/social standing than what is needed to train for the Fives, which is this really intense athletic competition that could bring really good things for her. However, Jessamy is the daughter of a Patron (higher social standing) and a Commoner (lower social standing), which is forbidden in her land. She faces not only pseudo for being the daughter of these two, but also classism for being in such a low social standing -- this is probably one of my favorite elements of the book, solely because it's a part of dystopian fantasy that I always look forward to. I read a review of this book that compares Jessamy to a mudblood in HP, so here it is basically a half-blood with the same amount of discrimination of a mudblood.

So, I liked Jessamy to an extent -- she was a bit wishy washy but she is still a young protagonist with a lot of issues, so I tried to look past it. I think that this will all play into her character development in future books so I'm withholding judgement for now. Kal (our love interest) was interesting too, I'm expecting that he'll be a bit more fleshed out in future books so I'm reserving judgement again. Pretty much all the other characters are really one dimensional and static, which as we all know is something that drives me absolutely insane, so I wasn't a huge fan of that.

100% agree with Noor on the romance, I didn't love Kal and Jessamy together because they just didn't quite fit. But to be honest, I didn't think Katniss and Peeta fit that well in THG but they still ended up having quite a bit of chemistry, and I feel like Kal and Jessamy could be similar in that sense.

I'm honestly a little disappointed at the lack of world-building and how it was more of just a dump of information that I had to wade through, I wanted more from it than what I got. Everything just felt very slow, and as someone who likes fast paced fantasy, this just didn't deliver on that front.

That all being said, I really did enjoy the book. The book flowed together in a way that was enjoyable and interesting, and while it had its flaws, I look forward to reading the next one, because it really feels like it has so much potential.

- Amrutha

What's the biggest risk you've ever taken?

Let us know in the comments!

Review: Say What You Will - Cammie McGovern

Say What You Will 
Cammie McGovern
Series: N/A
Genre: Romance, Young Adult
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Word Rating: Stunning
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

What. Okay, instructions on how to read and enjoy this book: read the first half and then ditch it. Say sayonara because while the first half of Say What You Will is clever and brilliant and absolutely charming, the second half will make you want to cry with how poorly the plot progressed.

First, before I get into my critique of the book, I would just like to applaud Cammie McGovern for writing a book about teenagers with disabilities that is both accessible and forthright. Besides that, it is a book that is written with honesty and has an interesting concept (although the book has a central focus on disability, it was a unique enough concept that rather than becoming a heavy plot point, it forced the characters to progress). I thought it was a marvelous idea and McGovern is a great author, with a very unique voice.

That being said...wow, the disappointment factor with this book is absolutely insane. The book opens with a set of email exchanges between Amy and Matthew, which leave enough to be desired that I wanted to continue. Amy has cerebral palsy, and Matthew is an extremely honest and a little awkward kid who calls Amy's bullshit about being super grateful for her disabled body. Then, Amy convinces her mom to get rid of her school aid and instead hire five teenagers to be her aids for each day. Matthew, as you might imagine, is one of these teenagers. Basically, this book progresses into a book about the relationship between Amy and Matthew, from aid to friend to romantic interest.

I won't give away any more of the plot, but I will say this. For half the book, I was absolutely in love with the characters and the story and the voice that McGovern provided for me (despite the third person, I feel as though this book would've been much better in the point of view of Amy or even Matthew or even alternating PoVs (I think McGovern is a good enough writer  to pull that kind of thing off). I feel as though the characters developed beautifully, and for the most part, so did Matthew, even towards the end. However, after the half way mark in this book, everything goes down hill (other than the writing, which is good all the way through). The plot, the character development, the overall tone of the piece: all of these things are lost at a certain point, and I so wish that wasn't the case. McGovern had the writing chops to make this one a home run, and really kill it with a fantastic ending, and she didn't. That disappoints me a little, although I feel like another book from McGovern might yield a better product (given that the keeps the flow throughout her novel).

Another thing I want to discuss is McGovern's ability to faithfully write teenager's dialogue. Honestly, that's what got this book up to the star rating that it got. Although the teenagers in question are not considered "socially normal" within the context on the novel, the writing translates the humor of a sassy teenager and a bossy friend and a concerned date. Strong writing chops like this are hard to find, and I hope McGovern comes out with something soon which has a stronger ending. Cannot wait to read the next thing she writes, with high hopes that it will be awesome all the way through next time.

- Amrutha

Who are your favorite authors for teen dialogue?
Let us know in the comments!

Triple ARC Review: Falling into Place - Amy Zhang

Falling into Place
Amy Zhang
Series: N/A
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Release Date: September 9th, 2014
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars
Word Rating: Interesting
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

I picked up an ARC of this book at BEA, mostly being attracted by the cover and then thinking it looked like an interesting enough story from the description. After reading it, it's definitely taken me a while to really understand how I feel about this book.

For some background, Falling Into Place tells a story in nonlinear chapters, switching between before and after Liz Emerson crashes her car in a suicide attempt. As readers, we get pieces of the puzzle this way and we get pieces of the lives of the peoples close to her and we find out about the characters and their dynamics which each other and what pushed Liz to the edge. These chapters of background information are laced with the chapters of reaction to the attempt, and of taking her to the hospital, and ultimately seeing if she lives or dies. I really liked that the story was told this way instead of straightforward "This was Liz's life and these were her friend's and she was sad. Then she crashed her car (into a bridge I don't care I love it) and everyone else was sad. Does she live or does she die? Here are some pages of drawing it out and here's the last page where you finally find out woo."

I thought the way the book was written was much more effective because it allowed you to actually appreciate the characters (even if you didn't like them, because I definitely didn't like all of them, but some grew on me) without a giant info-dump and even though the only real place to put the "does she live or die?" moment is at the end, doing it in a traditional linear format would have felt like wading through everything else to get there, while this captured my attention more and I didn't feel like I was reading only for that moment of revelation, because there was so much else going on.

As for the characters, while I did think Amy Zhang did a good job, something felt slightly off about them. I think it's that even though they're all written with dimension and fleshed out with their own problems and backgrounds, they're very hard to connect to. Liz Emerson, for example, is a very unlikable main character. I personally don't like her at all. And I usually wouldn't see that as a problem because you can still appreciate a character without liking them. However, in this book, there was just a stark disconnect from the reader and the characters. Her friends Julia and Kennie were all fleshed out and Zhang covered all the gritty topics like drugs and abortions and whatnot. Even Liam, who I liked more than anyone else, I couldn't make a strong connection with, because so much of his background just involved being in love with Liz, rather than anything about him.

Also, the narrator, who I liked the idea of, although it isn't such a mystery who it is, especially after one certain scene, gave me mixed feelings. On one hand, I liked that the narrator allowed us to jump in and out of scenes and how they inserted comments in about Liz, but I think a lot more could have been done with it, and because it wasn't used for much other than literally telling the story, there wasn't much of a point, because it just took away from the gritty, realistic feel of the novel without much reason.

In any case, Amy Zhang's writing style is spot on and is what pulled me through the disconnect from the characters. Her writing has a sort of whimsy to it, but the sentences aren't typically long and rambling, which is interesting. She has sort of a lyrical quality to her words and everything just flows well. It makes the book easy to read in one or two sittings, which is nice.

I definitely liked this book and as I was reading the plot and the whole concept of it was pretty interesting. I never got too invested emotionally in Liz, so even though at the end I really wanted to know how it played out, I would have been okay with either outcome. I think it's a pretty interesting book and worth a read, even if one or two aspects of it did fall a little short.

- Noor

Kiersten's Review of Falling Into Place
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Word Rating: Absolutely brilliant

I know Noor thought Falling Into Place fell short in some aspects, but I absolutely loved it.

I picked up an ARC of Falling Into Place at BEA this year. With a blurb that begins, "On the day Liz Emerson tries to die, they had reviewed Newton’s laws of motion in physics class. Then, after school, she put them into practice by running her Mercedes off the road," I was completely drawn to this story. As it turns out, this is also the first line of the book and the start to the reader's journey through Liz's life.

One of the most important things about this book is how it's told. Firstly, the story is told in a non-linear path, starting with when Liz crashes her car and alternating between the future and the past, showing us how Liz got to crashing her car and what happened after. Then, there's the voice the story is told in. The narrator that Amy Zhang chose for this story was one that sort of struck me as odd at first, but the more I think about it the more I think the choice adds so much to the over all feeling of the story.

The other important thing about this book is the story (duh). Liz Emerson is not a nice person - she's a mean girl. With all the bad things Liz has done in the past, it's a miracle that she even still has friends. However, this story isn't about liking Liz or even making her into a nicer person - it's about how despite everyone thinking she had it all together and she had everything a person could want, she didn't feel that way. Liz felt empty and like no one could see her past the front she put up.

While Liz is technically the main character, the story would be nothing without the supporting characters. Amy Zhang was able to capture all of these messed up kids, all with their own struggles. More importantly, though, she was able to show how all those struggles intertwined with Liz and why she drove her car off the road.

I can't tell you how much I loved this book - it's definitely one of my favorite reads of the year. Falling Into Place is such a raw portrayal of how a person can seem a certain way but feel completely different and I think it's something people don't think about everyday. The story was told so beautifully and I can hardly believe that a high school student wrote this seriously brilliant story. Amy Zhang has such impeccable insight for someone so young and I'll definitely be watching for her future works. I highly recommend this to any and everyone, especially if you like contemporary coming of age stories that are heavy but cathartic.

- Kiersten

Amrutha's Review of Falling Into Place
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Word Rating: Flowy

After getting this book at BEA this year, I was super excited to read it, for several reasons: 1) it has a really rad cover, and 2) as Kiersten and Noor have touched upon, an amazing blurb. To be quite honest, it took me a long time to decide quite how I felt about this book. It had a really twisted nonlinear plot, which I thought was done fantastically well. For a first time author, Amy Zhang truly captured a plot about death in away only a nonlinear plot can. It definitely held my interest -- I read this all in one setting. Like Noor said before, it was really the writing style that captured my attention in terms of this book -- it is usually so hard for me to find first time authors who's style of arranging plot and poetic syntax I can really appreciate, so when I find one, I tend to be excited for future books.

However, Falling into Place only earns a 3 star rating from me. Although the writing style was interesting, I found myself pulling away from the characters, especially Liz, our protagonist. I've read quite a few books about suicide and I feel as though there are so many ways to make a dying protagonist likable, and that just didn't happen here. I don't know what it was, but I didn't connect to Liz, our queen bee/suicidal chick as well as I should have as a main character.

Moreover, a huge problem I had with this book was the narrator. In the beginning, I thought an unknown narrator would be interesting, especially one that would be revealed at the end, but it became quite obvious pretty early on what was happening. It kind of took away from the mystery of the book, and I feel as though it contributed to me not feeling as much for the characters. While omnipotent narrators are great when written well, I feel like Falling into Place didn't capture the feelings of all the characters as accurately as it could have. I was so interested in Liam as a character, like Noor was, but it was so unfortunate that all I learned about him really was that he was in love with the protagonist. I wish there had been more elaboration on the minor characters in the story, because to be honest, I liked them a lot more than I liked Liz.

If I'd really suggest reading this book for one particular reason, it'd be for the writing style. Amy Zhang has so much potential and really has the ability to tell a story in a way that is both enticing and unique. I only wish that what little suspense there was with the narrator had lasted longer, and that the omnipotent narrator would have said more about the other characters. Other than that, I really did enjoy the book, and I look forward to reading more from Zhang.

- Amrutha

Do you like stories that are nonlinear?
Let us know in the comments!

Review: In Starlight - February Grace

In Starlight
February Grace
Series: Sequel to Of Stardust
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Word Rating: Little repetitive but decent
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

I received a copy of this book for an honest review.

Sigh guys, this book, while being pretty good, was not as good as its predecessor, Of Stardust (review here). In Starlight, being more from Gus's perspective, I found, was more than a little awkward. Although I loved having more Gus and Till, I just wasn't as into this book as I was the first. (It's still a good read though!)

The reason I liked this book so much was the focus on romance. While the first book was filled with magic and cute things galore, this was a refreshingly upbeat tale of Gus and Till. (Upbeat if we count all the trials and tribulations of their relationship). It is apparent in the story how much Gus cares for Till, regardless of the rules, and not going to lie, the way it was written was adorable. However, I feel as though February Grace did a better job focusing on Till in the first novel, and perhaps focusing on the female lead in the story led to a better outcome. This time around, the plot line presented dire consequences for the couple, as opposed to previously, when the book had a much more upbeat feel to it.

Another issue that manifested itself in this book was the emphasis on love not really being explained. The first novel was all about the rules and while Gus and Till needed to fight for their love here, they just seemed to stop caring so much about the rules with no real explanation. The idea of sacrifice was kind of lost, and I missed it because it was portrayed so well in Of Stardust.

The POV being Gus-centric was a little problematic for me, mostly because it was ALL ABOUT TILL. Like I understand they're in love, but they were when the first novel was Till-centric and she wasn't obsessed with him. This couple was really cute at times and my heart melted for them. but some of the repetitive mental I <3 Till that Gus seemed to be thinking about 150% of the time kind of annoyed me. This is why I would prefer to have the book in Till's point of view, as I feel that was done so much better.

All in all though, good read. This was just disappointing more so in comparison to the first novel than to anything else.

- Amrutha

What sequels were you disappointed by? 
Let us know in the comments!

Review: Silent Harmony - Michael Scott

Silent Harmony
Michael Scott
Series: Fairmont Riding Academy, #1
Genre: Young Adult
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Word Rating: B (above average, but not amazing)
On Goodreads

HELLO FRIENDS! I know it has been a while since I have posted (boo, college apps), but I have finally gotten around to reviewing Silent Harmony, by Michael Scott.

When I first picked up this book, I expected a book about horses, envisioning the story where Felicity (an American girl doll) rides her first horse, Penny. (If you haven't read the American girl doll series, drop this book and go run to them, and rejoice in their amazingness).

Erm. Anyways. This book wound up being much more about the dynamics of snobby rich kids than about horses, but that was okay. The narrator, Vivienne, is insightful and poignant, and she was the reason I liked the book so much. Because she is a scholarship kid and has to leave her family, we get to see a sad, personal side of her that really reinforced how strong and determined she is. Also, angsty teens and rich kid drama - although it is not the most original plot ever, it definitely kept my interest.

However, there were a few things about the book that I wasn't a huge fan of. First of all, there is a random murder (lol wut) of the school vet within the first few chapters. This might have been alright if it hadn't been thrown in there casually, as though adding a small plot twist. Because of this and awkward tense changes between scenes, the writing lacked some flow in the beginning of the book. Otherwise, the writing was well put together, other than a few chapters narrated not by Vivienne, but the boys at the academy. These chapters are the most awkward, just because the boys sound nothing like what they do in Vivienne's chapters. This might have been to show a different side of them and their characters, but it wasn't written well enough to pull that off.

Another concern was that there was a lot of horse riding terminology used, and I had to look all of that stuff up: a YA book should be a little bit more accessible and easy to understand, in my opinion. The interesting part of the story was Vivienne's ehm *special talents* but that was confusing as well.

Overall, the book was decent, and it was an interesting read. Barring some plot holes and awkward writing, Michael Scott did a fabulous job with this Liz Harrison (from The Clique series) meets Ally Carter (Gallagher Girl series (only the prep school part)) meets Anna Sewell (Black Beauty).

- Amrutha

If you could talk to horses, what would you ask them?  

Let us know in the comments!

Double Review: Zoo - Tara Elizabeth

Zoo
Tara Elizabeth
Series: The Enclosure Chronicles, #1
Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, Science Fiction, Romance
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Word Rating: Mediocre at best
On Goodreads

If this book could be summed up in one word, it’d be this: average. The writing style was average, the plot average, and the characters average. Cries. The premise of the novel is actually really enticing: we follow a teenager, Emma, after her “death”-by-car-crash into the future (around three centuries later). She is captured and put into a human zoo, where the inhabitants of the new dystopian society of the future come to the zoo to learn about how their ancestors lived. I was beyond ecstatic as books about the future always have some interesting plot twists and crazy spins, while this was relatively boring. (Well, I’ll be fair, there were a couple plot twists in the later half of the book that made up for the terribly dull first half).

Of course, no YA novel is complete without a little bit of romantic teenage angst filled drama. The first half of the book is complete with a love square between our main character Emma, James (a cowboy), Kale (a beaut surfer), and Victoria (a priss from the ages of petticoats and bloomers). To be clear, I ship Emma and Kale, but ONLY because Kale is awesome.

This book was very Hunger Games, almost so that it was borderline cliché. Not to mention, the sentence structure and word choice were astoundingly poor in that they didn’t draw me further into the story, but instead, pushed me away. It’s quite sad, really. As for the characters, they’re all pretty cliché – Kale is the sweet native Hawaiian boy while Victoria is the modest young woman while the King is as stereotypically French as possible. Not only that, but none of the characters actually grew as people: Kale is perf from the beginning, the Keepers are evil from the beginning, and none of that changes. Victoria seems to make a change, only to be wishy washy and change back and forth from serious to petty which honestly drove me nuts. Elizabeth tried to show Emma as a character that evolved, but sadly, it wasn’t written well so it wasn’t something I could empathize with. Ugh. Nothing drives me crazy more than static characters.

Moreover, the romance in the novel was bleh. It was obvious what I shipped from the beginning but the way it played out was fast and unreasonable and obviously very rushed. The spacing of time, even in a fantasy dystopia, needs to be accurate, because love does not move at light speed, even for Tara Elizabeth’s plots. Not going to lie, the only reason I was interested in the romance at all is because Kale reminds me so very much of Jace from The Mortal Instruments in physical appearance and Fang from books 1-5 of the Maximum Ride series in personality. Two of my favorite male love interests wrapped into one? Delish.

However, let us not forget the positive aspects of this book. The idea is beautiful, and the second half of the story is actually quite well thought out. Despite the fact that Elizabeth did not take into account the fact that so many things cannot happen in one day, the plot twists and turns were pretty interesting. There were many things that I didn’t anticipate and boy, am I glad for it. The ending of the book was unexpected and wonderful (although be forewarned, the epilogue makes me cringe). Not to mention, there’s a shout out to Emma by Jane Austen and Cat, a character who sacrifices his life and love for the greater good.

Despite some plot holes that I expect the next book in the chronicles to cover, this book was all in all, decent. Tara Elizabeth has talent in terms of her ideas, and I hope I can read something else of hers that is perhaps a bit more refined in its writing style. I will be keeping my eye out for Rebel, the next book in this series, because I can’t wait to see what happens next. 

- Amrutha

Kiersten's Zoo Review

Rating: 5 stars

Word Rating: Unforgettable

When I first read the concept of Zoo I was instantly intrigued, and the book did not disappoint. The idea of a human zoo is something I never could have imagined until reading this book and experiencing being enclosed with Emma. Unlike Amrutha, I really loved Emma's voice throughout the book. She's so sassy and sarcastic, but sensitive as well - the perfect balance between the hard-headed heroine and a scared teenage girl. I found myself often laughing or agreeing with her throughout her adventures in the enclosure. Tara Elizabeth was able to perfectly capture a teenage girl thrown from an easy existence into this strange society where humans are kept in captivity (and I would know since I'm Emma's age and I definitely would have reacted the way she did). I'd also disagree in saying that Emma is a static character. Emma's view on life completely changes after her experiences in the zoo and while I was reading, I felt like I grew with her.

I also disagree about the romance. While Amrutha saw it as a sort of insta-love, I saw it completely differently. Emma's opinions of her love interests go through many ups and downs throughout the book, even if it does seem quick. She often gets stuck in her headstrong-ness, but she later learns that her first impression may not always be reliable. I do agree about Kale though. He is absolutely perfect and wonderful. He was so sweet throughout the entire book. Even when he was angry he was sweet!

What I really enjoyed about Zoo, besides the romance, the concept, and the main characters, were the vast array of minor and supporting characters. All the other characters are so different! Coming from such different times and different lives adds to the chaos of the zoo and how Emma evolves. I really can't wait to find out more about Kansas in the next book of The Enclosure Chronicles, Rebel. Kansas is barely part of Zoo, but she's from a time when the human zoos are already around. I'm looking forward to seeing more into how the society was when the zoos came to be.

Overall, I completely loved Zoo! From the voice to the characters to the concept, I thought everything was great. The beginning may be a little slow, but I found it helped show Emma's beginning state and how she starts to change as well as acquaint me with the concept of a human zoo. For me, this book was 5 stars.

- Kiersten

How would you feel if you woke up in a zoo?

Let us know in the comments!