Lucid by Adriene Stolz & Ron Bass

Title: Lucid

Author: Adriene Stoltz & Ron Bass

Pages: 352

Published: October 3rd 2012 by Razorbill 

Summary: What if you could dream your way into a different life? What if you could choose to live that life forever?

Sloane and Maggie have never met. Sloane is a straight-A student with a big and loving family. Maggie lives a glamorously independent life as an up-and-coming actress in New York. The two girls couldn't be more different—except for one thing. They share a secret that they can't tell a soul. At night, they dream that they're each other.

The deeper they're pulled into the promise of their own lives, the more their worlds begin to blur dangerously together. Before long, Sloane and Maggie can no longer tell which life is real and which is just a dream. They realize that eventually they will have to choose one life to wake up to, or risk spiraling into insanity. But that means giving up one world, one love, and one self, forever.

This is a dazzling debut that will steal readers' hearts.

MY REVIEW

Lucid is a story about Sloane and Maggie both teenagers. Sloane is an actress trying to make her name in Hollywood. She also has a life style that most teenagers don't have. She goes to auditions instead of classrooms, has a parent whose not in the picture all that much because she works at Vogue magazine. She also has a little sister who she feels is her only best friend. Then there's Maggie who is just like every other teenage girl. She goes to school, has her set of friends, does photography, but she also did lose her best friend one night. Both girls struggle with the idea of sleep. When one goes to bed they dream of the other girls life. 

I loved the premise of Lucid. I always love reading about dream worlds and sleep. Each chapter is about each of the girls life. You see each girl struggle through out their ordinary day, and how Sloane goes to therapy to cope with her dream life and her struggle with her mia mother. 

The end felt rushed and terrible. This book would have received four stars, but I was not impressed with the ending. It confused me, and I'm not easily confused when it comes to reading things. It became too much of a blur and it happened really quickly. It felt choppy. I think if they weren't trying to rush it it would have made it a little bit cleaner for an ending. 

 

Little People in the City by Slinkachu

Title: Little People in the City
Author: Slinkachu
Pages: 128
Published: June 1st 2009 by Pan Macmillan
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Summary: "They're Not Pets, Susan," says a stern father who has just shot a bumblebee, its wings sparkling in the evening sunlight. A lone office worker, less than an inch high, looks out over the river in his lunch break, "Dreaming of Packing it All In." A tiny man makes his way back to a tiny car, with a tiny shopping bag: "Shopping for one again." Another office worker sits atop a gigantic engagement ring and gazes into the distance; the caption reads, simply: "No." These are the collected photographs of Slinkachu, a London-based artist who for several years has been placing tiny hand painted people on street corners, park benches, and the Underground, and leaving them to fend for themselves. Much like Banksy's early graffiti work, Slinkachu's creations mix the bustle, humor, and melancholy of city life, and lie quietly in the darker corners of London's streets, waiting to be discovered. And if you’re lucky enough to find one, to quote The Times: "Oddly enough, even when you know they are just hand-painted figurines, you can't help but feel that their plights convey something of our own fears about being lost and vulnerable in a big, bad city." This volume also includes a forward from acclaimed novelist Will Self.

MY REVIEW

If I'm honest, I bought this book by mistake. I thought it was a set of postcards that I originally wanted to purchase. I figured they would be great for that. I was surprised when I got this, and it was a book of photographs of little people doing street things. This was one of those mistakes turned into something that I loved. The photographs in Slikachu were great to look at and the idea was great. It was one of those "Why didn't I think of that?". I found myself chuckling at some of the photographs that they had. My favorites were tourist, urban camping, the mother load, our fist home, one false move, office politics, scavengers, "they;re no pets Susan" and bad first date. 

After receiving the book through Amazon, I did some research on the Little People project to see some more art work by Slinkachu. Apparently, this project started as a blog and worked it's way into a book. What's nice about this book is that you see the photograph of the idea at hand, and you also see the photograph from far away.

Either way I really enjoyed this nice surprise. I've included some pictures from the blog site, and will include the link as well so you can go check it out.

For more, go see Little People.

November's Random Read: Five Summers

Title: Five Summers
Author: Una LaMarche
Pages: 384
Published: May 16th 2013 by Razorbill
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Summary:  Four best friends, five summers of camp memories.

The summer we were nine: Emma was branded “Skylar’s friend Emma” by the infamous Adam Loring...
The summer we were ten: Maddie realized she was too far into her lies to think about telling the truth...
The summer we were eleven: Johanna totally freaked out during her first game of Spin the Bottle...
The summer we were twelve: Skylar’s love letters from her boyfriend back home were exciting to all of us—except Skylar...
Our last summer together: Emma and Adam almost kissed. Jo found out Maddie’s secret. Skylar did something unthinkable... and whether we knew it then or not, five summers of friendship began to fall apart.

Three years after the fateful last night of camp, the four of us are coming back to camp for reunion weekend—and for a second chance. Bittersweet, funny, and achingly honest, Five Summers is a story of friendship, love, and growing up that is perfect for fans of Anne Brashares and Judy Blume's Summer Sisters.

The Parts I Remember by A.K. Mills

Title: The Parts I Remember

Author: A.K. Mills

Pages: 236

Published: March 1st 2013 

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Notes: This novel was given to me from the author for an honest review. 

Summary: Act first. Think never. Remember nothing.

Welcome to Kelly Rockport’s existence at Haysville University, where responsibility is just an elective. After all, fake IDs, alter egos, and one-night stands are all part of the college experience, right? So what if she blacks out from time to time? Memory is overrated.

When freshman year lasts about as long as a one-night stand and is quickly followed by the Year of the Blackout, Kelly projects junior year to be nothing shy of amazing. But as shots, beer, cocaine and men mesh together in an intoxicating haze, Kelly’s reckless ways get her into serious trouble. The only problem is, she can't remember what happened.

As she hovers along the edge of consciousness, Kelly forces herself to think past her pain to piece together the shards of her life. This is her story, told in her words: The Parts I Remember.

MY REVIEW 

The Parts I Remember starts off with Kelly entering college with the Dean stating that one in three do not finish their college education. Of course being freshman, Kelly and the other freshman laugh this off. You watch Kelly get into the party scene, and sleep with random guys. 

Things start to get out of control for Kelly when she hits  her junior year. Shots are being done constantly and the experiment with hard drugs come into play. Her sister and her boyfriend don't buy into Kelly's act of partying which puts a thorn in their relationship. 

Tradgey strikes towards the end of the book, and we see where Kelly's drinking and partying plays an important part and how it effects everyone. 

 This was my first 'new young adult', and I rather enjoyed it. While I couldn't relate to Kelly since I'm not a partier myself I did enjoy her as a character. She was likeable from the start, and kept true to herself in towards the end. You started to wonder what it was going to take to get her to change her ways. 

The writing was wonderful, and I was hooked. It's a good read for those who like the party scene, but it's also a good read to show how your choices effect other people. I also liked that it wasn't preachy. Sure there is a moral to the book, but it wasn't smack in your face like some of them can be. Everything meshed perfectly. Very enjoyable. 

 

{Arc} How to be a Good Wife by Emma Chapman

Title: How to be a Good Wife
Author: Emma Chapman
Pages: 288
Published: October 15th 2013 by St. Martin's Press
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Notes: This was given to me through NetGalley for an honest review.

Summary: In the tradition of Emma Donoghue's Room and S.J. Watson’s Before I Go to Sleep, a haunting literary debut about a woman who begins having visions that make her question everything she knows
 
Marta and Hector have been married for a long time. Through the good and bad; through raising a son and sending him off to life after university. So long, in fact, that Marta finds it difficult to remember her life before Hector. He has always taken care of her, and she has always done everything she can to be a good wife—as advised by a dog-eared manual given to her by Hector’s aloof mother on their wedding day.

But now, something is changing. Small things seem off. A flash of movement in the corner of her eye, elapsed moments that she can’t recall. Visions of a blonde girl in the darkness that only Marta can see. Perhaps she is starting to remember—or perhaps her mind is playing tricks on her. As Marta’s visions persist and her reality grows more disjointed, it’s unclear if the danger lies in the world around her, or in Marta herself. The girl is growing more real every day, and she wants something.

MY REVIEW 

How to be a Good Wife is a story about Marta who has always known her life with her professor husband Hector. However, when their son leaves the nest things start to change for Marta. She starts to see things, and isn’t quite sure if these things are real or not. 

When I first received the novel from NetGalley, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from it. How to be a Good Wife? Eh, sounded like it could end up being good or bad. HOWEVER, I absolutely loved this book. The pacing can be a little slow, but once you hit that bang things pick up rather quickly. There is a good bang. You’ve seen this over and over, but in How to be a Good Wife, it’s the perfect twist. It fits nicely and you forget that you’ve seen it before. 

While I couldn’t relate to any of the characters, I found myself attached to Marta. I wanted to find out her story and wait for that bang that I was waiting for. The realization of things and where these visions are coming from. 

The ending was a little disappointing for me, but overall the book was great. Definitely recommend for those who like a good mystery and thriller. It would also be good for a book club pick. 

 

Notes from Ghost Town from Kate Ellison

Title: Notes From Ghost TownAuthor: Kate Ellison
Pages: 336
Published: February 12th 2013 by Egmont USA
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Summary: Summary: They say first love never dies...

From critically acclaimed author Kate Ellison comes a heartbreaking mystery of mental illness, unspoken love, and murder. When sixteen-year-old artist Olivia Tithe is visited by the ghost of her first love, Lucas Stern, it’s only through scattered images and notes left behind that she can unravel the mystery of his death.

There’s a catch: Olivia has gone colorblind, and there’s a good chance she’s losing her mind completely—just like her mother did. How else to explain seeing (and falling in love all over again with) someone who isn’t really there?

With the murder trial looming just nine days away, Olivia must follow her heart to the truth, no matter how painful. It’s the only way she can save herself.

MY REVIEW 

Notes from Ghost Town is a story about Olivia “Liver” Tithe who goes color blind in a dramatic event and also is able to see ghosts. The story starts off with you knowing that Olivia’s mother is guilty and waiting trial of the death of Olivia’s best friend and first love Lucas Stern. Olivia faces the days before the trial struggling with the idea of her best friend and first love’s death and the idea that her mom is the one who killed him because not only was she seen at the crime scene but she also confessed. It’s a lot for Olivia to swallow. 

I loved Notes from Ghost Town from the start of the book to the finish of it. Olivia had her moments of being a little annoying, but who could blame her? She just lost two major people in her life, and her dad is already moving on with another woman. It’s hard for her to accept. The only thing that keeps her going is her new step sister. I loved every relationship in this book from the relationship of Lucas and Olivia, Olivia and her step sister to Olivia and the love interest that she begins to have feelings for. 

The book can be a tad slow at some parts, but once you get towards the end everything falls into place perfectly. Things happen for reasons and they are set up. This is one that I will keep in my own book collection, and possibly read again. 

 

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick

Title: Forgive me, Leonard Peacock

Author: Matthew Quick

Pages: 288

Published: August 13th 2013 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers 

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Notes: This was given to me curtious of Little, Brown Books for Young Readers and Netgalley for an honest review. Thank you. 

Summary: In addition to the P-38, there are four gifts, one for each of my friends. I want to say good-bye to them properly. I want to give them each something to remember me by. To let them know I really cared about them and I'm sorry I couldn't be more than I was—that I couldn't stick around—and that what's going to happen today isn't their fault.

Today is Leonard Peacock's birthday. It is also the day he hides a gun in his backpack. Because today is the day he will kill his former best friend, and then himself, with his grandfather's P-38 pistol.

But first he must say good-bye to the four people who matter most to him: his Humphrey Bogart-obsessed next-door neighbor, Walt; his classmate Baback, a violin virtuoso; Lauren, the Christian homeschooler he has a crush on; and Herr Silverman, who teaches the high school's class on the Holocaust. Speaking to each in turn, Leonard slowly reveals his secrets as the hours tick by and the moment of truth approaches.

In this riveting book, acclaimed author Matthew Quick unflinchingly examines the impossible choices that must be made—and the light in us all that never goes out.

MY REVIEW

Forgive me, Leonard Peacock is a story about Leonard who has a plan of killing his former best friend Mason and then killing himself by the time the story finishes. In the process he gives gifts to those that meant something to him. You find out through the stories of his friendships what lead up to the final moments. 

I couldn’t finish this book. I love gritty teen novels like this one, and it was written well however I could have dealt without the obsession with the Nazis or the jumping back and forth between future letters to the present Leonard from the future Leonard in a way that spoiled the ending for me. If he’s writing a letter from the future, you know the ending. 

I put this book down at 37% and couldn’t read any more.  

 

Mechanical by Pauline C. Harris

Title: Mechanical
Author: Pauline C. Harris
Pages: unknown
Published: April 28th 2013 by Fire and Ice Young Adult Books
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Notes: This was given to me through Author Alliance for an honest review. Thank you!

Summary: Drew is an android. From the very beginning of her existence, she has been programmed by her creators to understand her superiority and overwhelming responsibilities. She was created for a mission, a mission more important than anything she could ever have imagined.

Drew is sent to a high school to observe the humans and report back to her creators. But when she begins to form friendships with these humans and starts feeling strange human emotions, she doubts the creators’ ways of dealing with her and wonders whether her mission is as wonderful as it once seemed.

As Drew falls deeper and deeper into the mystery surrounding her mission and her creation, she’s suddenly left with a choice. Does she follow through with what she’s known all her life or does she act on what she now knows is right?

MY REVIEW

Mechanical is a story about a high school student named Drew. Drew is much different from the typical student. She is an android, and she is perfect. She has been asleep for many years until the creators turned her on again. Drew is given a mission and she must follow through with it. She is sent to a local high school, and observes the humans. Things start to change for Drew. She starts to make friends with the humans, and starts to fall in love with one. This is where things start to get difficult. Drew’s mission changes and Drew starts to question her creators and why exactly she had been turned back on from years of being shut off. 

Mechanical is your classic droid vs maker and good vs. evil. I really enjoyed this book. It isn’t the typical YA book that I read, and it was the first sci-fi one that I’ve read. I loved Drew. It was interesting to watch her go through the process of what she was used to doing to what she thought was right; being with the humans changed her ways of thinking on the creators. It was a struggle for her, and that struggle made her more human. She also has to work at blending in with the humans. Picking up on how they laugh, talk, and behave around each other so she fits in. 

It wasn’t until half way through the book that Drew started to see the real picture. She hears that her roommate Yvonne’s mission changed, and she wants to empress the creators so bad. However, when she starts to realize what she’s doing she again fights her inner morals. She begins to rebel. 

Overall this book was a fast and enjoyable read. At the end, I literally said ‘Oh man!’ out loud because I wanted more, and it does leave you hanging. It’s a perfect set up for a trilogy. I can’t wait to read the next ones!