Monday, July 22, 2019

#AmReading YA


Technically, You Started It
Lana Wood Johnson
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
A hilarious, snarky, and utterly addicting #ownvoices debut that explores friendship, sexual orientation, mental health, and falling in love (even if things might be falling apart around you).

When a guy named Martin Nathaniel Munroe II texts you, it should be obvious who you're talking to. Except there's two of them (it's a long story), and Haley thinks she's talking to the one she doesn't hate.

A question about a class project rapidly evolves into an all-consuming conversation. Haley finds that Martin is actually willing to listen to her weird facts and unusual obsessions, and Martin feels like Haley is the first person to really see who he is. Haley and Martin might be too awkward to hang out in real life, but over text, they're becoming addicted to each other.

There's just one problem: Haley doesn't know who Martin is. And Martin doesn't know that Haley doesn't know. But they better figure it out fast before their meet-cute becomes an epic meet-disaster . . .
The chances of meeting one Martin Nathaniel Munroe II were slim to none, but Haley happened to know of TWO Martin Nathaniel Munroe II, because their parents wanted to name them both after their grandfather. Not very original, and also, very confusing, but the situation created the perfect storm for a fun mistaken identity type romance.

I had heard this book was amusing, but it was laugh out loud funny for me. These two shared some epic banter, and both were witty and possessed a sense of humor I appreciated. Once I started reading, I honestly had to keep going. I was so captivated by their exchanges, which ranged from the most banal to the most bizarre and included some really personal and touching things too.

I was a little leery of a book comprised of only text messages, but Johnson really impressed me with everything she was able to accomplish with the format. First and foremost, I must commend her on how well written both characters were. Their voices were truly distinct. I am not one to trash the formatting of an eARC, but this one had ZERO formatting, and yet, I could tell, with ease, when Haley or Martin were speaking. That right there says a lot for how well these characters are crafted.

Seriously, this is both characters texting each other

I also liked the way the more serious discussions evolved. They never seemed forced or oddly out of place, but rather, each fit well with events that had arisen outside of the texts.

In this day and age, many people begin their relationships online, and that's sort of exactly what happened here. With no face to face communication, Haley was able to get to know THIS Martin  free from all her prior misconceptions about him. I think that allowed her to really speak freely and interact with him without any bias, and what an opportunity she would have otherwise missed.

Overall: This was a wonderfully amusing, fun, and touching story, which delighted this character-driven reader.

The Year They Fell
David Kreizman
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Imprint
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
When a horrible tragedy unites five very different high school seniors, they discover the worst moment of your life can help determine who you really are in the powerful YA novel, The Year They Fell.

Josie, Jack, Archie, Harrison, and Dayana were inseparable as preschoolers. But that was before high school, before parties and football and getting into the right college. Now, as senior year approaches, they're basically strangers to each other.

Until they're pulled back together when their parents die in a plane crash. These former friends are suddenly on their own. And they're the only people who can really understand how that feels.

To survive, the group must face the issues that drove them apart, reveal secrets they've kept since childhood, and discover who they're meant to be. And in the face of public scrutiny, they'll confront mysteries their parents left behind--betrayals that threaten to break the friendships apart again.

A new family is forged in this heartbreaking, funny, and surprising book from award-winning storyteller David Kreizman. It's a deeply felt, complex journey into adulthood, exploring issues of grief, sexual assault, racism, and trauma.

"Teen drama abounds in this story about loss and love." --Kirkus Reviews

"Readers will find the characters relatable as they navigate the challenging time from senior year into adulthood following tragedy." --School Library Journal
They bonded in pre-school, but over the years, the "Sunnies" slowly, but surely, grew apart. However, their parents remained friends and vacationed together each year. It was that yearly vacation, that would forever change the lives of these five teens, and also, lead them back to one another.

I was reading this on emoji day, and when prompted to describe my current read using only emojis, I replied as follows: ðŸ›©️😭😭😭😭😭

I shed quite a few tears while reading the first part of this book. To have so many interconnected people simultaneously suffer such a huge loss, tears were inevitable. But, I got to spend a year with these characters, and though the undercurrent of pain and loss was always there, they also experienced a lot of growth, happiness, and hope.

Each character had something they needed to come to terms with in addition to the loss of their parents.

  • Archie was the adopted black son of white parents, who was trying to decide if he should seek out his biological mother. 
  • Harrison lived his whole life according to his mother's exceedingly high standards, and was now left adrift without her guidance. 
  • Josie had reinvented herself after she was sexually abused, but her abuser's reappearance had her shaken. 
  • Jack was always made to feel as though he was never good enough, and he struggled with the guilt that he was unable to protect his sister. 
  • Dayana saw herself as an outsider, and being the only one, whose parents survived, reinforced those feelings. 
But, it was together, that they worked through their past and present. It was together, that they recognized their strength. It was together, that they celebrated their hopeful futures. I mourned all the years they lost with one another, but I loved seeing these characters reconnect. They were so much stronger together than apart, and I was glad they finally realized that. 

The tears I shed in the beginning of this book were due to the profound sadness I felt for these teens, but those tears at the end, they were happy tears. The ending was filled with so much hope and joy, and I deemed it a payoff worthy of all my tears. 


**ARCs received in exchange for honest reviews.

Do you have a favorite epistolary novel?
Let us know in the comments!

28 comments:

  1. Oh I love the concepts here, will have to check them out!

    Lotte | www.lottelauv.blogspot.co.uk

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    1. Both were great - one will make you laugh, the other will make you cry

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  2. I need Technically, You Started It! And I jumped to the eARC image and read that first before your review and even I could tell which one was which! That's crazy!
    The Year They Fell sounds wonderful and definitely heart-breaking. I'm glad you enjoyed it!
    Genesis @ Whispering Chapters

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    1. Right? The characters were really distinct. At first, I let out a sigh, when I saw the formatting, but then, it wasn't a thing, and I had a fantastic time reading it.

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  3. These both sounds really good! The Year They Fell sounds like one that will probably make me cry for sure.

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    1. I cried during The Year They Fell, but being stretched out over a year, we experience so ups with the characters too.

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  4. THE YEAR THEY FELL sounds more like my kind of book than TECHNICALLY, YOU STARTED IT, but now you've got me really interested in the latter! I'll have to check both these out. Glad they were good reads for you!

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    1. Sometimes, I just want to laugh, and Technically was mostly all about the laughter. It was well done.

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  5. Lovely reviews! I really want to read Technically, You Started It, it sounds exactly like the kind of read I'd love, I love books dealing with online relationships like that and only told on texts and the author pulled it off perfectly? I'm even more eager to read it now :D

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    1. So, so fun! And, the dialog was whip smart. I loved it!

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  6. Wow, I'm impressed that you loved Technically even with the lack of formatting in the ARC. That's a sign of a fantastic book!

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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    1. I laughed so much, and because I was having so much fun, I just flew through it.

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  7. These books sound so good! I'm intrigued by the use of text messages in Technically, You Started It (plus, that cover is super cute!). The Year They Fell sounds so full of feels. I desperately want to read it and yet run from it.

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    1. Both were great, but I am always looking for a standout funny book, and Technically fit the bit for me. The Year They Fell was emotional, but you are on a year long journey of healing and there are good times mixed in there as they work through their pain.

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  8. Contemporary isn't usually my style, but these sound good.

    Sara | Book Confessions of an ExBallerina

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    1. Contemporary is pretty much my niche. I love it!

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  9. Technically You Started It sounds hilarious! I will certainly be adding that one to my TBR.

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    1. So much fun. Like, Gilmore Girls level banter.

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  10. These both look good. And I like a good story where old friends reconnect, or come back together after having drifted apart.

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    1. I like stories like that, because they make me hopeful, that not all things are irreparably broken

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  11. Love the cover for that first one. Super cute and original.

    Karen @ For What It's Worth

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    1. The cover met the vibe of the book, which was so fun. Rory and Lorelai level dialog had me hooked.

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  12. Ooh, that formatting! That's rough! A whole story told in text messages could go wrong so quickly, but I'm glad to hear the author was able to really create distinct and full characters.

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    1. I have read books with texts before, but never a whole book of only texts, and I was really impressed by the way Johnson was able to create a story that felt like a complete story to me.

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  13. Technically, You Started It has been on my radar for a while, because (1) the cover is CUTE, and (2) the premise sounds fantastic, buut I was worried about the text message format. Glad it worked really well, though! I'm definitely adding it to my wishlist after your review. :)

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    1. I think, because humor is so subjective and varies so greatly from person to person, you don't find enough funny books, and I was all over the funny here. The conversations between these two were smart and amusing and I was really into it.

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  14. I've been eyeing Technically You Started It at the library - I'm glad you loved it!

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    1. I loved it, even without formatting, which I bet the library book will have.

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