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Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Callum & Harper by Fisher Amelie

Release Date: 24 December 2011
Publisher: Self-pub

Goodreads description:
Life sucks for orphans Callum Tate and Harper Bailey.

Kicked out of their foster homes because they suffer the 'eighteen disease' with nothing but a hundred dollar check from the government and a pat on the back, they're forced to rely on a system that failed them miserably.

So they sit. They sit inside Social Services, waiting for their social workers to call their names and offer them the miracle they know will never come but they sit anyway because they have nowhere else to go, no other options on their very literal and figurative empty plates.

But as they sit, they notice the other. Although captivated, they each come to the conclusion that life is complicated enough without throwing in a boiling tension that can't ever be acted upon because they're both too busy thinking about where their next meal will come from but when their names are called and both are placed on a year long waiting list for permanent housing, suddenly relying on each other seems like a very viable plan B.

And, oh, how lovely Plan B's can be.

Well, except for the psycho from Harper's past that haunts her and, oh, yeah, there's the little issue that neither of them knows they're in love with the other.

Needless to say, Callum & Harper's life just got a bit more complicated.
My Thoughts...

This book was a refreshing read that introduced me to a pair of characters that absolutely stole my heart. I fell for them hook, line, and sinker in the first few pages of this book and they didn't let me go. Their story is both painfully heart-breaking and delightfully uplifting. Every moment, from start to finish, takes your breath away.  I'm going to try to review this book, but honestly? I loved it so much and it touched such a special place in my heart that I don't think I can do it justice.

The story is told in alternating POVs and while this is often a hit-or-miss kind of thing for me, I have to say that Fisher Amelie hit the nail on the head. There is no way that I would have loved this story nearly as much if I hadn't gotten to be in both Callum and Harper's heads. The style allows the reader to develop a deeper relationship with both characters. It's frustrating at points because you do know what each person is thinking and you want to *SHAKE THEM* (a lot), but at the same time, it makes their hesitations, actions, reactions, interactions,--EVERYTHING--that much more realistic. Because seriously: how often do we think and do different things in real life? We may be in love with someone but never tell them for fear of ruining our friendship. It happens.

The thriller, psycho-stalked aspect of this story added another dimension that I wasn't expecting when I picked this book up. (READ: I didn't read the synopsis before I started.) It adds an extra element of suspense and a level to the relationship between Harper, Callum, and their friends. It becomes an extra piece that binds them together. And speaking of their friends--those people are all incredibly awesome. They felt so much like a family (only the kind of family that you choose). I loved how they accepted Harper into their circle from the beginning. They were all people that I felt like I wanted to know.

Overall, I don't really know what else to say other than READ THIS BOOK. There's so much to relate to in this story and it offers up such a hopeful message.

Adaptation by Malinda Lo

Release Date: 18 September 2012
Publisher: Little Brown BFYR

Goodreads description:
Reese can’t remember anything from the time between the accident and the day she woke up almost a month later. She only knows one thing: She’s different now.

Across North America, flocks of birds hurl themselves into airplanes, causing at least a dozen to crash. Thousands of people die. Fearing terrorism, the United States government grounds all flights, and millions of travelers are stranded.

Reese and her debate team partner and longtime crush David are in Arizona when it happens. Everyone knows the world will never be the same. On their drive home to San Francisco, along a stretch of empty highway at night in the middle of Nevada, a bird flies into their headlights. The car flips over. When they wake up in a military hospital, the doctor won’t tell them what happened, where they are—or how they’ve been miraculously healed.

Things become even stranger when Reese returns home. San Francisco feels like a different place with police enforcing curfew, hazmat teams collecting dead birds, and a strange presence that seems to be following her. When Reese unexpectedly collides with the beautiful Amber Gray, her search for the truth is forced in an entirely new direction—and threatens to expose a vast global conspiracy that the government has worked for decades to keep secret.
Mrs. Menold's Thoughts...

What it's about: Adaptation takes government conspiracy and the possibilities of modern medicine/science to terrifying levels in a story that pulls you in from the beginning and had me finding every spare moment to keep reading.

Who it's about: Reese is one of those characters that I simply liked and connected with from the very start.  From her crush on her debate partner to her relationship with her parents, her life and world (well, before everything goes crazy...and even a little after) is relateable.  She came alive on the pages for me as a reader. David and Amber with equally interesting secondary characters.  I found them both intriguing and would sometimes wish I could just spend a few moments in their heads to get more info on what they were thinking.

What I liked: Really...pretty much everything.  Reese's vulnerability, the storytelling, the story, the conspiracies, the friends, the enemies, the family.

The bottom line:  If you're already a fan of Malinda Lo's writing, then I think this is a must read.  If you are fascinated by science fiction and conspiracy theories, than this is a must read.  Really, if anything about the premise catches your attention, give it a try.  This was, for me, a truly awesome read and I enjoyed every minute.

Crash Into You by Katie McGarry

Release Date: 26 November 2013
Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Goodreads description:
The girl with straight As, designer clothes and the perfect life-that's who people expect Rachel Young to be. So the private-school junior keeps secrets from her wealthy parents and overbearing brothers...and she's just added two more to the list. One involves racing strangers down dark country roads in her Mustang GT. The other? Seventeen-year-old Isaiah Walker-a guy she has no business even talking to. But when the foster kid with the tattoos and intense gray eyes comes to her rescue, she can't get him out of her mind.

Isaiah has secrets, too. About where he lives, and how he really feels about Rachel. The last thing he needs is to get tangled up with a rich girl who wants to slum it on the south side for kicks-no matter how angelic she might look.

But when their shared love of street racing puts both their lives in jeopardy, they have six weeks to come up with a way out. Six weeks to discover just how far they'll go to save each other.

Mrs. Menold's Thoughts...

Katie McGarry's other two books, Pushing the Limits and Dare You To, were definitely some of my favorite contemporary reads of the last year plus.  She writes with a very authentic YA voice that draws me in quickly and easily.  Crash Into You did the same for me and was a great read to start off 2014 on the right foot (even if it was my 4th book of the year...).

Isaiah's character has basically haunted me since the first book in this series.  He was so dark and broody on the outside but we never really got to see what was going on inside his head.  It was eye-opening to get a more in-depth look into his personality and start to see him in a different light.  Usually, I'm not a fan of romantic relationships that change one person or the other but I felt like Rachel really opened Isaiah up to the possibilities in front of him and allowed him to dream for what was probably the first time in his life.

Rachel, well, I didn't think I was going to like Rachel at first.  I thought she was going to be a typical slightly whiny, wimpy rich girl with some problem and an attraction to bad boys.  But, thankfully, she wasn't that way at all.  Her family situation was truly a disaster, although no one on the outside looking in would ever know and you could almost feel her desperation to break free and be herself.  She also knew her family was well off and didn't try to hide it or turn her back on it.  She simply wanted them to accept her the way she truly was inside and she found that acceptance with Isaiah (after a little prodding).

Isaiah and Rachel may be the "life of this party" so to speak but the other characters in this one really pulled the whole story together for me.  We get fantastic glimpses into the other characters that we saw in the previous two books, moreso than we ever really did in the second book.  Each minor character has a crucial role to play and didn't feel like a throwaway.

Crash Into You was an enjoyable read, even if it was a tad predictable (like any good romance), and I look forward to more from the author.  The ending has a sort of rushed feeling to it and I wasn't sure how I felt about it as a way to wrap up the storyline.  However, neither of those minor issues will stop me from reading the next book in this series because they are really fun, quick reads.  Ms. McGarry's books are great read for YA romance-obsessed teenagers who enjoy the angst and the kissing that books like this offer.