Book Review | Winger by Andrew Smith

Today's book review is brought to you because of book hype. That's right, I picked up Winger by Andrew Smith purely because of the repeated praise I heard from fellow book lovers. Whether or not that was a good choice will be revealed through this review.

Winger is the story of Ryan Dean West. He's a fourteen-year-old junior in high school, and attends a boarding school where he is two years younger than his classmates. The story is told from Ryan's first-person-perspective, and he tells readers that he ended up in the dormitory for all of the trouble makers because he stole a teacher's cell phone the previous school year.

Ryan Dean is extremely nervous about this new living status. He quickly finds himself in some pretty risky situations, and deals with serious peer pressure from his new bunkmates. As the story continues, readers follow Ryan Dean along his high school journey as he figures out who his friends are. Of course, there is also a love story along the way.

Unfortunately for me, I knew in advance that there was a "big, emotional plot twist" at the end of the novel. Thus, while I was reading Winger, I was looking for hints along the way. It became clear to me quite early in the book what was going to happen at the end, and once I reached that point in the story I was left completely underwhelmed. The ending was thus predictable for me, and that left me with a sour taste in my mouth.

I also strongly disliked Ryan Dean. Many people love him as a character, but I found him extremely annoying and immature. Yes, he does face some bullying and peer pressure, but that is no excuse. Ryan Dean makes all of the wrong decisions in this book, and I couldn't respect him even though he is a young teen who is bound to make poor choices. In addition, I could have done without all of the drawings in the book. I feel like they distracted me from the novel instead of being a helpful addition.

When rating Winger on Goodreads I tried to take into account the fact that the book hype did affect my reading experience. I gave the book a four out of five star rating, because the writing is good and I think if I wasn't anticipating a twist of an ending, I would have enjoyed the read much more. Winger is the first book in a new, young adult contemporary series, so I'm going to reread the book when the sequel is released and give it another chance. I'm hoping in hindsight I'll like the story, and Ryan Dean, much better.

If you've been wondering about Winger, here's my advice: read it with an open mind. Don't look for clues along the way, but enjoy the story in the moment. If you're expecting a shock, you'll most likely be let down as I was. However, Winger is a solid contemporary read, and still deserves a chance. You can purchase Winger on Amazon HERE. The second book in the series Stand-Off is due to be released this January. Please let me know your thoughts on Winger in the comments!

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Book Review | The Diamond Thief by Sharon Gosling

I was lucky to receive an Advanced Reader's Copy of The Diamond Thief by Sharon Gosling at BookCon earlier this year, and decided to give it a read before it's released in October. The Diamond Thief is a genre-bending, young adult story, and it's like nothing I've ever read!

Our protagonist is Rémy Brunel, a sixteen-year-old trapeze artist who works in a traveling circus. While the circus is in London, the circus master gives her an assignment – she must steal a rare and expensive diamond. Rémy accepts the task, since she and her fellow circus members are all trained to steal as well as perform in the show. But as Rémy goes undercover to scope out the diamond's whereabouts, things don't go according to plan.

The story that follows is full of surprises. The Diamond Thief is part historical fiction, part mystery, part steampunk, part love story, and so on. It truly reaches a variety of genres while still forming a fantastic story with a number of unexpected turns. I was thoroughly impressed with the uniqueness of The Diamond Thief, and Gosling's ability to create an imaginative story.

My only drawback with this book is that the writing is very pragmatic. I can tell it is written for a younger audience, and that took away from my reading experience a bit. With such a mysterious plot, I would have liked a different writing style that showed instead of told. Nonetheless, I give The Diamond Thief a four out of five stars on Goodreads for its ingenuity, and recommend it to younger readers (middle school through high school). The Diamond Thief will be officially released on October 1, 2014, and available for purchase on Amazon HERE.

I use Amazon Affiliate links so you can find the books I mention easily. All opinions are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more information. 

Book Review | Don't Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowski

Back in May I attended a Teen Panel at Barnes & Nobel Union Square, and one of the authors on the panel was Sarah Mlynowski. She was there to market her latest release, Don't Even Think About It, and even though I knew nothing about the book I decided to pick it up and get it signed. I'm so glad I did!

Don't Even Think About It is a young adult book that is a mix between the contemporary and paranormal genres. It takes place at a New York City high school, when the sophomore class is getting its annual flu shots. Everything is going according to plan, until a few hours after the shots are administered the students start hearing things. It turns out the shots gave the students mind-reading abilities! What follows is a hilarious story told in the first-person plural from the point-of-view of all the students with ESP.

I loved Don't Even Think About It, and finished it in a few hours. Mlynowski's writing is quite easy to read, and I loved how she used the first-person plural to demonstrate how none of the kids have secrets anymore since they can hear each others' thoughts. I also thought it was great that the novel accurately portrayed high school life even with this paranormal spin on the story. There was teenage love, teenage angst, and even though I'm a twenty-something, I still loved the story. I laughed out loud many times, and thoroughly enjoyed the reading experience.

I gave Don't Even Think About It a full 5 star rating on Goodreads, simply because it was a great read and I can't tell you one thing I didn't like about it. This is also the first book in a new series, and I can't wait for the next one to be released. I highly recommend Don't Even Think About It if you're looking for a fun read. You can buy it on Amazon HERE. I look forward to checking out more books by Sarah Mlynowski in the future!

 I use Amazon Affiliate links so you can find the books I mention easily. All opinions are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more information.

Book Review | Can't Look Away by Donna Cooner

I was extremely excited when I saw Can't Look Away by Donna Cooner on NetGalley and discovered that it is a young adult, contemporary novel starring a YouTube Beauty Guru as the main character! I've watched the YouTube beauty community for about a year and a half, and love that this new part of our culture is being represented in young adult literature. I couldn't wait to dive into the story!

Can't Look Away is told from main character Torrey Grey's perspective. She and her family move from Colorado to Texas as the book begins, as Torrey's younger sister Miranda was just killed in a car crash. The family is looking to start anew, and Torrey must attend a new school. While being the new kid at any high school can be nervewracking, Torrey has an extra reason to panic. She's a YouTube Beauty Guru with hundreds of thousands of subscribers, and since her sister's death the spotlight has been on her more than ever. Torrey hopes that she can survive at her new school without anyone recognizing her, and tries to cope with her sister's passing at the same time.

I really enjoyed Can't Look Away, and was very impressed with the careful research done by Cooner. She was able to capture the small nuances of the YouTube beauty community from the video titles, the catchphrases, and even the gossip websites. As someone who watches beauty videos on a regular basis, this attention to detail made the story very believable, and it represented the YouTube reality quite well. I also loved how the title of each chapter is a title of a beauty video. It was creatively done, and definitely worked.

The story itself was also great. It had depth to it, and the character development was strong. I did see some Mean Girls parallels throughout the story, and at times I found myself lining up the characters of Can't Look Away with the Plastics and Aaron Samuels. However, the stories are quite different, and if I focused on the big picture I could see how they aren't truly connected. I do wish, however, that Can't Look Away was a bit longer. There are some aspects of Torrey's life that I would like to see explained a bit more. While Can't Look Away had a good conclusion, I was left wishing it was a series – I need to know more about Torrey and what comes next for her!

Overall, Can't Look Away is a wonderful book, and perfect for any fan of YouTube in particular. I gave the book 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads, and definitely recommend it. Can't Look Away is available for pre-order on Amazon HERE and will be released in September.

I use Amazon Affiliate links so you can find all of the books I mention easily. This book was provided for my unbiased review. All opinions are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more information. 

Book Review | Unwind by Neal Shusterman

I am so excited to tell you all about Unwind by Neal Shusterman. I've loved the dystopian genre since I read The Hunger Games trilogy back in 2012, so when I heard the concept behind this series, I knew I had to pick it up. I wasn't prepared for how amazing Unwind was going to be!

Unwind takes place in a future America where abortions are no longer legal. The pro-life and pro-choice armies compromised and created the Bill of Life, which says that at the age of thirteen, parents can choose to have their child unwound. If you are an unwind, you get sent to a harvest camp and 100% of your body is dismembered and used much like organ donation to help others. Thus, an unwind is never dead as all of his/her body lives on in others.

This disturbing yet fascinating plot is run by three main characters. Connor is your standard, every day teenager whose parents are getting rid of him. Risa is a ward of the state, given up at birth. Finally, Lev is a tithe, born for the sole purpose of being an Unwind. Readers follow these three teens as they run from their fate and try to survive until the age of eighteen, when they can no longer be unwound.

I absolutely loved this book. The writing is extremely captivating, and discusses issues that are at the forefront of American society today. Part of the reason this book was so amazing to me is because this is a dystopian society that is somewhat plausible. As someone who enjoys political philosophy, I appreciated Shusterman's confidence to write Unwind in an age where abortion is such a controversial topic. Plus, the story itself is like nothing I've ever read.

I highly recommend that you pick up Unwind especially if you enjoy young adult dystopians. I gave it a full 5 star rating on Goodreads, but would give it a 6 if I could! This is the first book in a series, with book four being released this fall. You can get Unwind on Amazon for around $5 HERE. I cannot wait to pick up the next book in the series!

I use Amazon Affiliate links so you can find all of the books I mention easily. All opinions are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more information.