Review for The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg

The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg
Publisher: Puffin
Release Date: 2nd February 2012
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Afterlife
Rating: 5/5 stars
Source: Received from the publisher for review

Goodreads Summary:
"Brie's life ends at sixteen: Her boyfriend tells her he doesn't love her, and the news breaks her heart - "literally." But now that she's in heaven, Brie is about to discover that love is way more complicated than she ever imagined. Back in Half Moon Bay, her family has begun to unravel. Her best friend knows a secret about Jacob, the boy she loved and lost - and the truth behind his shattering betrayal. And then there's Patrick, Brie's mysterious new guide and resident Lost Soul who's been D&G (dead and gone) much longer than she and who just might hold the key to her forever after. With Patrick's help, Brie will have to pass through the five stages of grief before she's ready to move on but how do you begin again, when your heart is still in pieces?"

Review
I’m a big fan of what I’ve come to think of as “Afterlife” books. With what exactly happens after death being the world’s biggest mystery I think that it gives authors artistic licence to really put some imagination into their take on life after death. I found Jess Rothenberg’s version of an afterlife fascinating and thought that it was a brilliant idea for the deceased to have to go through the five stages of grief- Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Sadness and Acceptance- just the same as those they left behind have to in order to move on.

What makes this book stand apart from others in the “Afterlife” genre is that our main character Brie literally dies from a broken heart when her first love Jacob tells her that he doesn’t love her. There’s a real mystery behind the book as to why Jacob broke up with Brie when their relationship seemed so perfect. I loved watching Brie visit her old life and go from seeking revenge on Jacob to slowly coming to understand and accept the reasons why their relationship didn’t work out all whilst struggling with her growing attraction to her new friend and guide to all things afterlife Patrick. Patrick himself is another big mystery to the book, I was so curious to know why he had been in this “in-between” place for so long and what was keeping him from moving on to the other side. The Catastrophic History of You and Me is a book that explores love in all its glorious and devastating forms and is ultimately a unique and quirky romance.

As well as the romance aspect to this book, Brie is also trying to navigate her way and learn the rules of the afterlife as well as trying to tie up loose ends and act as guardian angel to her best friends and family. What really impressed me with this book was Rothenberg’s ability to write a story that is in equal parts as funny and life affirming as it is heart breaking and sad. I loved Brie’s voice and could completely relate to her and the mistakes she makes with love.

I would whole heartedly (cheesy pun totally intended) recommend this book to anyone who’s ever had their heart broken. The Catastrophic History of You and Me is a love story like no other, with a hilarious heroine, and the ultimate disaster romance this is a story of life, death, love and all the glorious things in between at its best.

Review for Kiss Date Love Hate by Luisa Plaja

Kiss Date Love Hate by Luisa Plaja
Publisher: Corgi (Random House Childrens)
Release Date: 2nd February 2012
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Chick-lit
Rating: 4/5 stars
Source: Received from the publisher for review

Goodreads Summary:
"What if you could change your friends' lives and loves through the settings of a computer game...?

Lex Murphy's group of friends have all dated, hated, ignored and lusted after each other for the last few years. If only there was a way of matching people perfectly to avoid all the unrequited love, dumping and drama! Then Lex's friend George is given a mysterious Sims-like game by his software-testing dad which involves building character profiles in the categories of Life, Looks and Love. Lex and George populate the game with avatars for all their mates, making a few 'wishful thinking' adjustments to the settings - and find that the next day these tinkerings have come true! But how long can this new calm, loved-up atmosphere continue?"

Review
Many girls wish that they could magically get their ex-boyfriend to like them again, or even for something as simple as bigger boobs and longer hair. If given the chance I’m sure that we’d all change something about ourselves or our lives so when our heroine Lex and her best friend George play a mysterious online Sims like game starring not only themselves but also their group of friends who can blame them for tinkering around with the online settings? Giving themselves a better image and adding a few wishful thinking improvements regarding who likes who in the group. But when what’s happening in the game starts also unexplainably happening in real life too Lex and George feel like they’ve won the jackpot. They have ultimate control over their friend’s looks, love lives and even personalities and can change things for the better right at their fingertips. But sometimes what we think we want isn’t always what we need which is something that Luisa Plaja explores to extremes in this weirdly wonderful story.

Kiss Date Love Hate is a contemporary romance with a cute modern twist that makes it stand apart from others in the genre. This book has everything you want in a chick-lit read, a funny likeable heroine, an adorable nerdy best friend, a swoon worthy bad boy, and an original fun filled plot that young adult readers will enjoy.

What surprised me most about this book was how seamlessly Luisa Plaja delivers a cute and funny story that also has themes on the importance of being yourself. I read this book in a day when I was sick and the likeable characters, and heart-warming plot made that day so much better than it should have been.

This is the perfect feel good read about accepting yourself the way you are and how the people who matter will accept you too, warts and all. I loved this tale of finding love where you least expect it and would definitely recommend it to anyone who appreciates warm, funny, contemporary romance for teens.

Review for Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
Publisher: Penguin
Release Date: 5th January 2012
Genre: Adult Fiction, Chick-lit, Romance
Rating: 5/5 stars
Source: Bought

Amazon Summary:
"Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.

What Lou doesn't know is she's about to lose her job or that knowing what's coming is what keeps her sane.

Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he's going to put a stop to that.

What Will doesn't know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they're going to change the other for all time."

Review
As soon as I heard about this book I was desperate to read it. The whole prospect of a book about a quadriplegic man wanting to go to Dignitas in Switzerland- a clinic that legally allows a patient to take their own life- I thought was such a brave and controversial topic for Moyes to tackle. My mum, like our heroine Lou, is a carer and I was fascinated to get a glimpse of what she has to deal with on an everyday bases through the eyes of Lou. There are so many books out there that cover a number of serious illnesses like cancer, mental health, STI’s and so forth but this is the first book I’ve come across about what it’s like to live with such a sever disability and the effort it takes just to live out day to day life.

Me Before You is a real eye opener of a book. Prior to reading it I’d never given much thought as to how dramatically different life is for someone as severely disabled as Will. I’d never for instance thought of the embarrassment of having somebody have to feed and clean and dress you. How whilst a shop may say it’s wheelchair friendly simply because it has a ramp to access the shop sometimes that’s really as far as it goes regarding the width of aisles or how high up the products are. I’d never thought about how you can never do anything spontaneously as everything has to be planned in advance to fit your needs, and how people can be so damn patronizing despite your mind being perfectly sound. Jojo Moyes does a brilliant, thoroughly researched job in showing the many ways that life for someone like Will is different to ours and so much of a struggle that you can totally understand and even support his right to choose to end his life.

That being said Me Before You isn’t a depressing read. Of course with the subject matter in parts it’s terribly sad and peoples treatment of Will made me ever so angry, but Moyes counterbalances the plot with a lot of black humor from Will and those who care for him regarding his disability, his bickering with Lou in particular being a real highlight of the book. For a lot of the story I didn’t even see Will as a quadriplegic but just this charming, brilliant man with a wicked sense of humor. Whilst being utterly fascinated by the medical side of things I also loved the lighter side to this book, like Lou and Will’s growing relationship, and Lou’s attempts to try and get Will to change his mind about going to Dignitas with her plans for humorous and sometimes disastrous “life changing” trips and outings that never seem to go to plan.

I absolutely adored this book and can see why it’s been selected for so many book clubs most famously perhaps Richard and Judy’s as it really gives you a lot of food for thought and plenty to discuss. This book is definitely one of those life affirming type of reads that is guaranteed to touch the hearts of all who read it. A brilliant book that will make your heart ache in the best possible way.

An Apology

Dear faithful blog readers,

Some of you may have noticed that I’ve been MIA for the last few weeks without warning and I apologise for that. Basically my personal life kind of took over everything, first with getting sick, then with it being my birthday, then with going on a mini break, then with getting into a reading slump, into then caring for my dad who has a leg injury. So that’s what’s been keeping me from the blog these past few weeks but I’m hoping things will continue to settle down now so I can get back into blogging, I’ve really missed it!

To get things back on track I’m going to first be concentrating on catching up with all of the reviews for the books I’ve been reading. I can’t believe I haven’t reviewed a single book that I’ve read this year! I’ve been reading some great and not so great books so I’m looking forward to telling you guys all about that and recommending some new 2012 titles! So yeah this is going to be a strictly review zone until I’m up to date, which I’ve got to admit I’m excited about as writing reviews are pretty much my favourite thing to do on the blog! I may also do some sneaky In My Mailboxes if things go well as with going to Oxford- home land of bookish awesome, my birthday, and weeks worth of book hauls missed I have a lot to show you guys although sadly I might not be able to show them all as I really have had SO many make a new home with me these last few weeks.

So can you guys forgive me? I’m sorry I’ve been a sucky blogger and forgot to be awesome. But I’m here now, if you’ll have me. Watch this space for the first of an abundance of reviews going up tomorrow; it will be happening, promise.

Happy reading till next time,

Jess x

Review for Divergent by Veronica Roth

I’d like to give a special mention to Cait and Lyndsey for the push I needed to finally pick this book up!

Divergent by Veronica Roth
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: 3rd May 2011
Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian
Rating: 5/5 stars
Source: Received from the publisher for review

Goodreads Summary:
"In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves… or it might destroy her."

Review
It took me such a long time to get round to reading Divergent. I have no idea why considering dystopians are my favourite type of book to read. Maybe because I was worried it wouldn’t live up to the hype or because I was waiting for a time when I wasn’t busy and could give it my full attention, or maybe I was just saving it for when I wanted to read a really good book, I don’t know. I think they all had a little something to do with it. But as I am surely the last person on earth to read it this review is to simply concur with all of the wonderful things said about this book, because this is a book that deserves it’s hype.

Divergent is the type of dystopian that I love best. It’s fast paced, I mean REALLY fast paced, not giving you a moment to even catch your breath and gather your thoughts. Considering it’s such a big book there is never a moment where the story drags on or the pacing drops. It was consistently exciting and action packed in a way that’s similar to dystopians like The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner. But at the same time it’s not a copycat and has a completely new story to anything else out there. Despite this book being just shy of 500 pages I devoured it in less than two days which is pretty speedy for me and a book of this size.

Our protagonist Tris is probably the most badass heroine I’ve ever encountered. Seriously, this girl is tough as nails, and I loved following her journey. Then there is Four, Tris’s instructor and love interest. I loved Four right from the start, he’s this really strong, tough guy with a heart of gold. I loved Four and Tris’s relationship as unlike in so many young adult books they were partners and equals who supported each other but didn’t need the other to babysit them. I loved how naturally their relationship developed and how despite the romance it didn’t take away from or slow down the action element of the story.

The plot is so well imagined and executed. If I’m nit picking the only thing that let this book down for me was that I figured out many of the twists before they happened. I would have liked to have been kept on my toes a little more regarding that but overall it didn’t take away from my love for this book.

Divergent is the best dystopian I’ve read in a long time and is perfect for readers who love their stories dangerous and their heroine’s bad ass. This was a mind blowing debut and a fantastic start to what promises to be a hugely popular series. I can barely wait for book two!