Dear Nobody: The True Diary of Mary Rose edited by Gillian McClain and Legs McNeil
I bought this because a) it was inexpensive and b) it sounded like it might be like Go Ask Alice, which I liked. This one, I didn't like so much. Also, I won't be able to put it in my classroom--I would get phone calls from parents about why I have books that drop the F-bomb so much, discuss drug use like it's ok, and open sexual situations (even though not graphic).
I wanted to like this, I really did. Mary Rose made it hard. She's not a bad person, but she makes bad choices. When she started talking about her cystic fibrosis, it was hard to care, even though I wanted to, because up until then, she didn't seem to care about her life. If she didn't care, why should I?
The timeframe that this book encompasses is from1996 to 1999. She talks about her drinking and drug use like it's no big deal. Her biggest complaint, understandably, is that her mother would rather be with a jerk who abuses her and her kids than her kids. Mary Rose's mother was an alcoholic and drug user too, so it seemed hypocritical when she came down on Mary Rose for those things. Like, how was she supposed to know any better when her own mother was exposing her to those things? That's why her mother's afterword seemed fake.
This girl had cystic fibrosis, but her family never came to see her in the hospital. Her mom said it was because she had to work. Sorry, that doesn't work for me. I get it that she needed to make money to take care of her family, but when she wasn't working, she needed to be with her kid.
Mary Rose didn't have any real friends. They were only people to get drunk and high with, and when that wore off, she had no one. That was sad. Obviously, she had more to offer the world, but was never given the chance. And the multiple times she was raped? She should not have had to deal with that alone. All she really had was the journal she kept, and it was just depressing.
Was this a real journal? Hard to say. If it was real, then I am sad that Mary Rose didn't get the help or the love she really needed. I am sorry she had to deal with a disease, on her own, that took her life before she really got to live it. If it's not a real journal, I am not sure that it's going to have the impact on the masses that Alice, a fake journal purported to be real, did.
In short, I wish I hadn't wasted my time and money on this one.
Sunday, March 26, 2017
Thursday, March 23, 2017
Summer, Ending this Time
We'll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han
I loved this trilogy, until I read the last two chapters of this book.
This time around, Belly is a freshman in college. She goes to the same college as Jeremiah, as well as her best friend, Taylor. At a frat party with Jeremiah to celebrate the end of the school year, Belly finds out that Jeremiah slept with a sorority chick in Cabo over Spring Break. Oops.
After a few days of being mad at him, Belly forgives him, and he proposes. She says yes, but their parents and his brother, Conrad, aka Belly's First Love, all think they are too young. Belly and Jeremiah don't care. Belly has a huge fight with her mother, and then takes off to the Cousins house. Conrad is staying there as well.
Conrad finally admits to himself (and others) that Belly is the only one for him. One problem...she's marrying his brother. Or does she?
I loved this trilogy, until I read the last two chapters of this book.
This time around, Belly is a freshman in college. She goes to the same college as Jeremiah, as well as her best friend, Taylor. At a frat party with Jeremiah to celebrate the end of the school year, Belly finds out that Jeremiah slept with a sorority chick in Cabo over Spring Break. Oops.
After a few days of being mad at him, Belly forgives him, and he proposes. She says yes, but their parents and his brother, Conrad, aka Belly's First Love, all think they are too young. Belly and Jeremiah don't care. Belly has a huge fight with her mother, and then takes off to the Cousins house. Conrad is staying there as well.
Conrad finally admits to himself (and others) that Belly is the only one for him. One problem...she's marrying his brother. Or does she?
Monday, March 20, 2017
Summer, Part Deux
It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han
It's the next summer. Belly and Conrad dated, and broke up. Susannah passed away, and summer isn't the same because, for the first time in her life, Belly isn't going to the beach house in Cousins. Then, she gets a call from Jeremiah. Conrad has gone missing, and Jeremiah needs Belly's help to find him.
They end up at the beach house. Conrad has gone there because he got wind that his dad was going to sell the place, and Conrad couldn't live with that. Belly comes to some realizations at the beach house; some things she's not comfortable with.
As they all try to reconcile themselves to the fact that this could be their last trip to the beach house, they do some things they may later regret, but on the whole, look back on all their good times together.
Will they get to keep the beach house? Will Conrad finally be real with Belly? I can't wait to read the last installment of this trilogy.
It's the next summer. Belly and Conrad dated, and broke up. Susannah passed away, and summer isn't the same because, for the first time in her life, Belly isn't going to the beach house in Cousins. Then, she gets a call from Jeremiah. Conrad has gone missing, and Jeremiah needs Belly's help to find him.
They end up at the beach house. Conrad has gone there because he got wind that his dad was going to sell the place, and Conrad couldn't live with that. Belly comes to some realizations at the beach house; some things she's not comfortable with.
As they all try to reconcile themselves to the fact that this could be their last trip to the beach house, they do some things they may later regret, but on the whole, look back on all their good times together.
Will they get to keep the beach house? Will Conrad finally be real with Belly? I can't wait to read the last installment of this trilogy.
Friday, March 17, 2017
Sweet "Summer" Read
The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
This is the third book I have read of Ms. Han's, and she doesn't disappoint. I have at least one more of hers to read before I go to this young adult book con thing on April 1 that she will be at.
This is the story of the summer Belly turns sixteen. Every year, she goes to the beach house of her mother's oldest and dearest friend, and they stay for the whole summer. Her mother's friend has two sons, and Belly appears to have a crush on both of them, though one more than the other.
This summer is different though because the boys finally notice her. She's no longer the little sister figure, but a young woman in her own right. They still, to some degree, still treat her like a kid. She meets a boy, and spends a lot of time with him. She reminisces of summers past, and wonders about the future. She also can't really let go of her love for one boy, even though he treats her badly most of the summer.
I enjoyed this. It was a quick read, and I can't wait to read the next one.
This is the third book I have read of Ms. Han's, and she doesn't disappoint. I have at least one more of hers to read before I go to this young adult book con thing on April 1 that she will be at.
This is the story of the summer Belly turns sixteen. Every year, she goes to the beach house of her mother's oldest and dearest friend, and they stay for the whole summer. Her mother's friend has two sons, and Belly appears to have a crush on both of them, though one more than the other.
This summer is different though because the boys finally notice her. She's no longer the little sister figure, but a young woman in her own right. They still, to some degree, still treat her like a kid. She meets a boy, and spends a lot of time with him. She reminisces of summers past, and wonders about the future. She also can't really let go of her love for one boy, even though he treats her badly most of the summer.
I enjoyed this. It was a quick read, and I can't wait to read the next one.
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
Missing Girls and Wonky Timelines
All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda
I am always down for a good thriller, and this was a good thriller.
Nicolette, or Nic, as those from her hometown call her, is headed back home to help sell her dad's house. He's recently written her, indicating that he saw the "missing girl." The "missing girl" is Nic's former best friend, who went missing one night ten years prior. Nic needs to know what her dad means.
So, she's back home, and her old boyfriend stops by to say hello. His current girlfriend is in the car. She later goes missing, in the same way that Nic's best friend did ten years ago. That's when the book takes an interesting turn.
Where most books tell a story in the order that things happen, this one does not. Part one is the present. Part two two weeks later, but works its way backward to where the book started. Wonky, no? Part three is back in the present. Definitely a different way of telling the story, but I liked it. In many ways, it still worked the same way as it would have if the story had been told chronologically. I mean, as I progressed, I still picked up clues that would lead me to solve the mystery. It's hard to articulate what I am trying to get at. Suffice it to say, this book is worth your time, even it is a bit unconventional in its method of getting the story across.
I am always down for a good thriller, and this was a good thriller.
Nicolette, or Nic, as those from her hometown call her, is headed back home to help sell her dad's house. He's recently written her, indicating that he saw the "missing girl." The "missing girl" is Nic's former best friend, who went missing one night ten years prior. Nic needs to know what her dad means.
So, she's back home, and her old boyfriend stops by to say hello. His current girlfriend is in the car. She later goes missing, in the same way that Nic's best friend did ten years ago. That's when the book takes an interesting turn.
Where most books tell a story in the order that things happen, this one does not. Part one is the present. Part two two weeks later, but works its way backward to where the book started. Wonky, no? Part three is back in the present. Definitely a different way of telling the story, but I liked it. In many ways, it still worked the same way as it would have if the story had been told chronologically. I mean, as I progressed, I still picked up clues that would lead me to solve the mystery. It's hard to articulate what I am trying to get at. Suffice it to say, this book is worth your time, even it is a bit unconventional in its method of getting the story across.
Monday, March 13, 2017
Red Novellas
Cruel Crown by Victoria Aveyard, which contains the following novellas: Queen Song and Steel Scars
Queen Song tells the story of Cal's mother, Coriane, who was the queen that Tiberius chose without a Queenstrial. Though her family was noble, they were poor, and did not spend much time at court. When her uncle died and her father became the head of the family, Coriane came to court and met the prince, who fell in love with her because she wasn't like everyone else. Elara, who is Maven's mother, did not like this, and did everything she could, including causing several miscarriages, so that she could get rid of Coriane. She got into her head and caused Coriane to kill herself. As we know, Elara becomes queen after that.
Steel Scars is a bit of back story on Farley, and how she begins the red rebellion. Having been under her father's command, Farley apparently proved herself enough to be trusted with her own important mission. This ultimately leads to her meeting Mare, and the rest is history.
This book also has a preview of The Glass Sword, but since I read that already, I didn't bother with that part. I liked this because it gave some back story. I heard there are other novellas that deal with Julian and Sarah, but I have yet to come across them. This is a "world" of books that, despite some of their shortcomings, I have enjoyed becoming familiar with.
Queen Song tells the story of Cal's mother, Coriane, who was the queen that Tiberius chose without a Queenstrial. Though her family was noble, they were poor, and did not spend much time at court. When her uncle died and her father became the head of the family, Coriane came to court and met the prince, who fell in love with her because she wasn't like everyone else. Elara, who is Maven's mother, did not like this, and did everything she could, including causing several miscarriages, so that she could get rid of Coriane. She got into her head and caused Coriane to kill herself. As we know, Elara becomes queen after that.
Steel Scars is a bit of back story on Farley, and how she begins the red rebellion. Having been under her father's command, Farley apparently proved herself enough to be trusted with her own important mission. This ultimately leads to her meeting Mare, and the rest is history.
This book also has a preview of The Glass Sword, but since I read that already, I didn't bother with that part. I liked this because it gave some back story. I heard there are other novellas that deal with Julian and Sarah, but I have yet to come across them. This is a "world" of books that, despite some of their shortcomings, I have enjoyed becoming familiar with.
Sunday, March 12, 2017
A Red Sequel
The Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard
An interesting thing happened while I was reading this one.....for the first time ever, my Overdrive "rental" expired, and I wasn't finished with the book. I blame it on the fact that my Kindle 3g, Hypatia, kicked the bucket, and I had to use my Kindle Fire. The Kindle Fire I HAD to have, but don't really use. I find it difficult to read on it, as it causes some serious eye strain for me. So, a week into reading this, I was not even halfway through, despite the fact that I was enjoying the book. Thankfully, I got an email that Kindles were on sale, and ordered a new one, Hypatia2. My reading life picked back up, but I still didn't finish in time. Then, when I went to sign into Overdrive, it won't connect. I suspect it has something to do with all of the IT work going on for my school district while we are out for Spring Break, but I was not ready for this particular outage. I ended up paying $12 on Amazon so I could finish the last 20% of the book today.
All that said, I did like the book. Did I like it as much as The Red Queen? No. I don't necessarily like the person Mare has become in the few short months that this book encompasses, but I don't hate her either. She has a lot going on, being the "face" of the enemy, and starting a revolution, and she's not the same person she was in the first book. That is to be expected.
Another thing that bothered me were the newbloods. Not that they existed, but that we, the readers, didn't get to know them as well as I think we should have. Why does Cameron act the way she does? Who the hell is Gareth, other than the dude who can defy gravity? So many newbloods mentioned by name, but not a lot of back story on them. I would have been ok reading a longer book to get a better idea about the characters I was reading about.
What I am hoping is that the next book will be better than this was. Again, it wasn't bad, it just wasn't as good as the first. Typical middle of a trilogy book syndrome, I guess. I will be reading the third, as soon as Overdrive is accessible again. In the meantime, I bought one of the novellas of this series and I picked up another book while I was out today. I'm set for reading material this week.
An interesting thing happened while I was reading this one.....for the first time ever, my Overdrive "rental" expired, and I wasn't finished with the book. I blame it on the fact that my Kindle 3g, Hypatia, kicked the bucket, and I had to use my Kindle Fire. The Kindle Fire I HAD to have, but don't really use. I find it difficult to read on it, as it causes some serious eye strain for me. So, a week into reading this, I was not even halfway through, despite the fact that I was enjoying the book. Thankfully, I got an email that Kindles were on sale, and ordered a new one, Hypatia2. My reading life picked back up, but I still didn't finish in time. Then, when I went to sign into Overdrive, it won't connect. I suspect it has something to do with all of the IT work going on for my school district while we are out for Spring Break, but I was not ready for this particular outage. I ended up paying $12 on Amazon so I could finish the last 20% of the book today.
All that said, I did like the book. Did I like it as much as The Red Queen? No. I don't necessarily like the person Mare has become in the few short months that this book encompasses, but I don't hate her either. She has a lot going on, being the "face" of the enemy, and starting a revolution, and she's not the same person she was in the first book. That is to be expected.
Another thing that bothered me were the newbloods. Not that they existed, but that we, the readers, didn't get to know them as well as I think we should have. Why does Cameron act the way she does? Who the hell is Gareth, other than the dude who can defy gravity? So many newbloods mentioned by name, but not a lot of back story on them. I would have been ok reading a longer book to get a better idea about the characters I was reading about.
What I am hoping is that the next book will be better than this was. Again, it wasn't bad, it just wasn't as good as the first. Typical middle of a trilogy book syndrome, I guess. I will be reading the third, as soon as Overdrive is accessible again. In the meantime, I bought one of the novellas of this series and I picked up another book while I was out today. I'm set for reading material this week.
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