Tell Me Three Things

Tell Me Three Things is a YA contemporary novel by debut author Julie Buxbaum.

Jessie’s life has been turned upside down – and she was not consulted.

Being moved from her Chicago home to a prep school in Los Angeles to begin her junior year of high school is traumatizing enough without also having to try to become comfortable living with her new earnest stepmom and standoffish stepbrother.

How her dad could have done this to her, sprung this on her, without any notice… It is beyond her. To be saddled with people she doesn’t even know when it’s been barely two years since her mother’s death is not helping her relationship with her dad.

Without her best friend and without any frame of reference in Los Angeles, Jessie feels totally alone. That is, until she receives an email from someone calling themselves Somebody/Nobody (SN for short), providing an offer to help her navigate her new surroundings.
It’s weird but intriguing. And in a decision based on need rather than anything else, Jessie begins to interact with SN – and feels a little less alone. SN helps her, makes her laugh and just keeps things from going a little too dark… so much so that she would like to meet SN in person.

But are some things better left unknown?

Tell Me Three Things was a heartfelt, gripping human story. It wrapped me up and didn’t let me go until the final page. And even then, as I write this, I still feel in its grips a bit.

Jessie was a great character – she was very relatable. I love it when an author presents someone in a way where they have flaws and issues but they aren’t the biggest brat or obnoxious due to it. Sure, she may act out a little to her dad a couple times – but it was always within reason and understandable in the situation. She’s also smart and funny with just the right amount of insecurity/confidence.

It’s also a little bit like a mystery – throughout the book you find yourself, along with Jessie, trying to figure out who SN is. It’s fun, while also being touching, hilarious and memorable.

I really ended up loving Tell Me Three Things. It felt like a complete story – the end was highly satisfying and the narrative touched on everything it needed to, while never falling into a trap of clichés or being too predictable

Point: It made me happy.

I’d like to suggest you read Tell Me Three Things too – maybe it’ll make you happy too!

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The World Within: A Novel of Emily Bronte

The World Within: A Novel of Emily Bronte is the YA historical fiction novel by Jane Eagland.

Change is in the air. This is what worries Emily – as she loves spending all of her time with her sisters Charlotte and Anne, as well as her brother Branwell in their small, quiet village of Haworth. Their shared stories, often written down, spurs her imagination and takes her on grand adventures.

But when her father falls ill and Charlotte is sent away to school, Emily’s world begins to crumble. Branwell seems less and less interested in his little sisters and Anne may not be as dependable as Emily once thought…

The World Within: A Novel of Emily Bronte interested me in that I love historical fiction and I love Charlotte Bronte. I’ve never read Emily’s Wuthering Heights (though I do own it) and every time I start it I am put off by how much I dislike the characters. Yet I still thought this book may be intriguing.

Sadly, Eagland’s presentation of Emily’s unknown childhood with her fellow famous siblings was not very compelling. It was a very quiet, very straightforward story of siblings, with the dramatic, wild(ish) one at the center. Quiet and straightforward can be piercing and raw when done with the right words and arrangement – however, I never felt that with The World Within.

Though these words pain me to say, I found this book… boring. I kept waiting for something to happen.

Now I don’t mean vampires attacking, mind you. Nothing ridiculous. But some kind of emotion, some kind of harsh reality of life in that time period… something.

Eagland never managed to make me feel invested enough in any of the characters to relish the subtle story she writes here, unfortunately. The only part that affected me was a part involving a pet – which can almost always get to me emotionally.

Other than that, I didn’t care for the character of Emily and the lack of anything ever really happening made The World Within a book that I had to start skimming, due to the huge pile of other books calling my name.

There are likely plenty of you that would adore this book – so please do read it for yourself. I am one opinion among many, don’t let me dissuade you from giving it a try!

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Finding Audrey

Finding Audrey is a YA contemporary novel by Sophia Kinsella, author of the bestselling Shopaholic series.

After an incident with classmates, Audrey has developed an anxiety disorder. She now rarely leaves the house and wears dark sunglasses at all times to avoid eye contact.

Her family is loving, if crazy, and are working hard to help her get better – as is her kind therapist, Dr. Sarah. It’s a slow, but steady, progress.

When her brother’s gaming teammate, Linus, comes over to the house she initially feels as much anxiety as she feels about anything she is not comfortable with – that is, A LOT.

But soon she finds that Linus is patient with her disorder and is encouraging her to push farther into recovery than ever before. Suddenly, there is momentum.

And perhaps some romantic feelings…

I have never read the Shopaholic series, so I wasn’t sure what kind of writing style I was getting into at all. I have to say, all in all, I am pleasantly surprised by Finding Audrey!

This novel is more about dealing with psychological damage and the inner workings of a family under stress than it is about romance. However, the romance that is involved is sweet and impactful on the plotline.

Though, I am quick to clarify, romance is NOT the cure to Audrey’s anxiety disorder. I have seen many concerned readers online that were rebuffed by the idea that a boy could, essentially, be the antidote to a mental disorder. That is definitely not the case here – it is more about how his addition to her life affects her recovery.

Finding Audrey also has a comic element, though it never minimalized the weightiness of Audrey’s issues. It simply revolved around a pretty hilarious, sort of crazy family. I liked the way they all seemed to love each other, though – there was a sense of helpfulness, despite their eccentricities.

With all of these components mixed in with engrossing drama, I found Finding Audrey to be a VERY quick read. It was very good and very fast.

I recommend it!

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Princess of the Midnight Ball

Princess of the Midnight Ball is a YA fairytale retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses by Jessica Day George.

After the twelve year war, soldiers are returning from battle to their home country. Galen is one of these. On his journey to find his mother’s sister, the only family he has left, he meets a mysterious elderly woman on the side of the road gives him magical items and declares he will need them soon…

Meanwhile, in the palace, Rose is the eldest princess of twelve and is faced with a problem. Each morning she and her sisters slippers are becoming terribly worn – and no one call tell the king why. The ordinary flood of balls in their father’s kingdom is not the cause…

Instead, Rose and her sisters are being forced to travel deep into the earth to the malicious King Under Stone’s realm where they must dance with his twelve sons. It is a curse. And it is not one with an ending any time soon.

Or ever.

Once Galen becomes a gardener at the palace and learns of the mystery, and its escalating results, he decides that he needs to help. And in order to banish the curse, he’ll probably need to use the items the old lady gave him…

Princess of the Midnight Ball has a very classic tone, which I heartily enjoyed. It is very faithful to versions of this story we have seen before yet helps to fill in gaps, provide more detail and give us a chance to know and care about the characters.

I truly felt terribly for the princesses! To be forced to dance all night long whether sick, tired, etc. is horrible – but especially for the little ones that are too young to know the dangers of complaining about it. There was definitely suspense there!

Galen is an extremely likable, honorable young soldier that trumps most fairytale princes with his principles, kindness and intentions. We see early on that he and Rose are a perfect match – and happily the author gives that relationship time to grow and cement on more than attraction or the ridiculous “insta-love” fairytales often provide.

Mixing all of this together makes for a solid, fast-paced magical read and a book that I read very quickly. I was satisfied with the end and ready to embark on the next two books from Jessica Day George that are also set in this land and retelling other tales, such as Cinderella and Red Riding Hood.

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Jane and the Madness of Lord Byron

Jane and the Madness of Lord Byron is the tenth historical mystery in the Jane Austen Mystery series by Stephanie Barron.

As I said last week regarding Jane and the Barque of Frailty, these are really books best read in order to get the full impact and understanding of relationships and such. However, I believe they could potentially work as stand-alone stories, as well.

When Henry’s adored, animated wife Eliza passes away from illness, Jane and Henry mourn her deeply.

Calling on the recuperative, distracting power of the ocean and sea air, the pair head to Brighton to enjoy the teeming, dazzling resort life favored by so many.

It is not long before Jane’s path crosses with the famous, possibly mad, undeniably magnetic poet and seducer of women: Lord Byron. His reputation is known to Jane, but even she cannot help but be shocked by the circumstances in which she meets him.

So, when a beautiful young girl barely out in society is found murdered and placed in Lord Byron’s bed, there are not many who do not think him capable. Including the shrewd mind of Miss Austen herself.

Yet Jane is not one to call a man guilty based off public opinion alone. Pursuing a private investigation, she seeks to discover if Byron is indeed the wrongdoer or if someone is taking advantage of his poor repute.

Another engrossing mystery! Full of period details, fantastic settings and a clue-finding whodunit, Jane and the Madness of Lord Byron is a great read!

The loss of Eliza is a sad one – and one of my favorite things about this series is that Jane, her family and friends are featured in such a way as to care. Some murder mysteries tend to forget about characters and focus primarily on the mystery – but the Jane Austen Mystery series always takes the time to allow for human emotions and relationships. I love that.

This is a captivating story and deals with a rather sad, creepy murder. The ending felt a little ambiguous but it was still satisfying. I am yet again ready for more Jane outings! Though, this time, I am going to pursue some other titles first and return again in a while.

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Jane and the Barque of Frailty

Jane and the Barque of Frailty is the ninth in Stephanie Barron’s Jane Austen Mystery series.

I thoroughly recommend reading this fantastically imagined, Regency whodunit series from the beginning. You would want to start with Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor. I’ve been a huge enthusiast of this series from the beginning as a fan of both Jane Austen and mysteries!

It’s 1811 in London and Jane Austen is enjoying a month-long visit with her brother Henry and his lively wife Eliza. She’s awaiting publication of her first novel, Sense and Sensibility and spending her free time socializing during the height of the Season.

When a mysterious, exiled, lovely Russian princess is found dead outside of the abode of a notorious Tory minister, though – even Jane is surprised. The determination of self-murder does not sit right with Jane, and she is happy to investigate further.

What is more surprising, however, is that Jane and Eliza manage to thrust themselves into the case – as suspects! Now Jane must solve the mystery not just for her own curiosity and sense of justice, but to keep herself and Eliza from the noose!

What fun!

It’s been years since I’ve read the first eight books and had hoped to be able to reread the series before I continued on – but I think many busy bibliophiles can agree that this can be a difficult thing to do. So, I finally gave in and read Jane and the Barque of Frailty. Happily, my faint memory of the previous books was sufficient.

I was very quickly pulled back into Jane’s smart first-person narration and observations while following the suspense of murder amidst the polite crowd. Yet again we have an intricate mystery with lovely period details.

Stephanie Barron is a stickler – she follows Jane’s locales based on the remaining letters from Austen’s life. We are often exactly where she was in her real life, at the right time. She also takes hints from the letters, or perhaps rumors of the day, and interweaves them into the fictional aspect of the story. You feel almost as though this could all be possible!

A strong, enjoyable story with serious, dramatic elements and plenty of Austen wit, Jane and the Barque of Frailty was a great mystery that left me prepared for reading more. There are now a total of twelve books in this series and I am on to book ten!

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A Million Miles Away

A Million Miles Away is a YA contemporary novel by Lara Avery.

High school senior Kelsey’s life changes when her identical twin sister, Michelle, dies in a car accident. Her other half is gone. There’s an emptiness inside of her that she can only see reflected in her parents grief-filled eyes.

When Kelsey accidentally intercepts a broken Skype call from Michelle’s boyfriend Peter, deployed in Afghanistan and unaware of Michelle’s death, he thinks he’s seeing Michelle.

Immediately, Kelsey tries to correct him – but the call is so broken he cannot hear her. Soon she realizes that thinking of Michelle is one of the only things keeping Peter going and she finds the truth stuck in her throat the next time she has an opportunity to tell him.

So, she pretends to be Michelle. Emails, chat, written letters.

Initially she tries to write like Michelle – finds an odd comfort and connection to her twin by identifying with everything that made her who she was.

But it doesn’t take long before pretend becomes real – and Kelsey realizes she is falling for Peter…

A Million Miles Away is an absorbing, engrossing story of grief and loss. I scarfed it down very easily and very fast.

Written with a sensitivity that makes Kelsey immensely empathetic, the author manages to make the decision to not tell Peter the truth understandable. You feel Kelsey’s need to, essentially, bring her sister back to life every time she talks to him. And the sadness that comes with the end of each call, each time she has to face that Michelle is no longer there, is evident.

Though it sounds melodramatic for Kelsey to fall for Peter, it happens in a natural, sweet manner in the novel. I appreciated that though Kelsey has some guilt about falling for her sister’s boyfriend, she primarily knows that her twin would understand. That was rather refreshing.

The true worry is the shame of deceiving Peter. Once it’s done, it’s hard to undo.

Despite my captivation in this quiet, mournful story, I did feel that the secondary characters could have been more drawn. Everybody but Kelsey felt like faceless background characters, with the possible exception of Peter and Kelsey’s parents.

Also, though I felt A Million Miles Away was a lovely, heartfelt romance – I felt the end was a bit rushed and convenient, which was disappointing.

However, A Million Miles Away was an excellent, swift read that was worth every minute!

*I received a free review copy of A Million Miles Away from NOVL. Their generosity did not influence the honesty of this review in any way.

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As Love Blooms

As Love Blooms is the third book in The Gregory Sisters Christian historical romance series by Lorna Seilstad.

Though each book focuses on a different sister, reading the books out of order potentially spoils you for the other sisters’ romances. I would recommend reading When Love Calls first and then While Love Stirs before As Love Blooms. Click on the titles to be swept away to my reviews of said novels!

In 1913 St. Paul, Minnesota, youngest Gregory sister Tessa is determined to put her horticulture education to good use by getting a position at prominent Como Park.

When she is rebuffed for being a woman best left to garden at home, Tessa’s persistent, audacious spirit is flamed all the more.

With a mixture of a little good hearted deception involving penetrating the affluent and powerful society to drum up financial support for a new conservatory for Como Park and working with a attractive male gardener at the Park to utilize her creative designs, Tessa is sure she can make her dreams come true.

But will the gardener be more distraction than help?

I can’t say that As Love Blooms is the most original novel out there, but was diverting enough and pleasant.

Tessa is a spirited character, ready to push the bounds of her restraints as a female in 1913. Oftentimes, though, this spiritedness can come across as a bit immature. She’s still likable, though.

I liked that Reese, our main male character, and she became friends before anything else – and it was rather refreshing to have their feelings for each other made known fairly quickly without too much melodrama.

However, overall I found As Love Blooms to be a harmless, nice read without much substance or depth. The romance didn’t have my heart pounding or yearning – and the plot wraps up in a manner that is pleasing but also predictable.

Yet, to be fair, these books are not necessarily meant to be more than that. They are supposed to be inspiring, enjoyable romances – but in the case of As Love Blooms, it was more lighthearted and didn’t strike me as anything particularly special.

Keep in mind that your opinion may be much stronger! I am in no way saying As Love Blooms is a poor book, it just didn’t blow me away. So – read it for yourself!!

*I received a copy of As Love Blooms from the Baker Publishing Group. Their generosity in no way influenced, nor sought to influence, my opinion of the novel.

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The Truth About Twinkie Pie

The Truth About Twinkie Pie is a middle grade contemporary novel by Kat Yeh.

What would you do if you won a million dollars from a national cooking contest?

Intellectual twelve-year-old GiGi is not real impressed by her hairdresser big sister DiDi’s choice of living the same modest lifestyle – not even buying a new car!

However, DiDi does move them out of the trailer park of South Carolina and into a little apartment in the North Shore of Long Island, enrolling GiGi in a fancy school to better her academic gifts.

That’s all fine and good, but GiGi feels that a change should mean things actually change – so she decides that she is going to try and make friends, let herself indulge in a crush and try to do more “normal” things than studying 24/7.

Yet, GiGi’s changes seem to be putting a strain on her relationship with DiDi – something they’ve never had, like this, before – and leads GiGi to a road full of unexpected family secrets that could change everything…

The Truth About Twinkie Pie was a poignant, memorable, character driven novel that exceeded my expectations!

Happily, GiGi is not a brat – you can understand and empathize with her, even as she is inadvertently selfish and hurts DiDi. It’s that painful recognition of the family dynamic – hurting the ones we love – and growing pains.

Truly, The Truth About Twinkie Pie overcomes most clichés and brings dimensions to the secondary characters while also making the main characters absolutely relatable in both the best and worst ways. They feel like genuine people, which is so important to me when reading a novel.

At times, The Truth About Twinkie Pie is agonizing – the mistakes of youth can be doozies – yet it is also extremely heartfelt and lovely. This is a book about family – and friends – and, really, that first step toward growing up.

Though I guessed one of the twists, I did not guess the ultimate one. Either way, though, the presentation of the narration and dialogue in these situations was so unaffected and sincere that whether or not you see the revelation coming has little to do with the eventual emotional punch.

Plus, on top of all this goodness, The Truth About Twinkie Pie made me very, very hungry! Filled with unique, delicious-sounding recipes of sweet concoctions, this is a book better not read on an empty stomach!

I will keep my eyes open for more books by Kat Yeh, for sure.

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Knocked Out By My Nunga-Nungas

Knocked Out By My Nunga-Nungas is the third entry in the sidesplitting contemporary YA series Confessions of Georgia Nicolson by Louise Rennison.

As always with a series, it’s best to read the books in order and best not to read the reviews until you’ve read the prior book. Therefore… YOU’VE BEEN WARNED.

After a rather disastrous attempt to make Sex God Robbie jealous after he broke things off between them due to her “being too young”, they are now officially an item.

But yet again her family of crazy people are determined to ruin everything.

Why not a sudden vacation in Scotland?!

Um, maybe because there’s nothing to do but look at old men in kilts and hang out with the young crowd in a GROCERY STORE?!?!?

But upon return home, Georgia is struck with an odd revelation.

Though she is in Snog Heaven with gorgeous Robbie, her prior only-dated-to-make-Robbie-jealous flame Dave the Laugh is looking marvelous.

Not to mention their attractive new French teacher.

Apparently, Georgia is becoming a brazen harlot!

Well, maybe that’s what Scotland does to you…

What can I say that I have not already?!?

Knocked Out By My Nunga-Nungas is yet again laugh-out-loud funny and entertaining from the first to last page without pause.

I love that we’re exploring other romantic interests (hellooooo Dave the Laugh!) and that Georgia is experiencing some mixed feelings – makes for more amusement and fun!

If you’ve already started this series, then I really don’t know what I can say that can convince you more to read Knocked Out By My Nunga-Nungas, as I figure you’re already hunting it down with a determined focus and don’t need me to convince you.

I’ll leave you with the single note I wrote when reading this third book:

“Awesome. Frickin’ HILARIOUS!”

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On the Bright Side, I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God

On the Bright Side, I’m Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God is the second book in the raucous British YA contemporary Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series by Louise Rennison.

For maximum hoots and haws, I recommend reading this series in order – which means starting with Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging.

If you haven’t yet read that first hysterical entry in the series – not only do I feel pity for you but I also warn you that this review may include potential spoilers of the first book.

You have been warned.

Just when Georgia has finally snagged Robbie the Sex God with her wily charms, her Mum announces that they will be joining her father in New Zealand – which may help to prevent Georgia’s Mum from embarking on an affair that she sees all too clearly – but is also very, very bad because she doesn’t want to leave the Sex God and go through snogging withdrawal.

Not to mention hot steam apparently shoots out of the ground in New Zealand. Not marvy.

With all of that combined with Angus, their cat of the Scottish Highlands that terrorizes the neighborhood so mightily that the police actually show up at their door, a toddler sister that still insists on hiding her used diapers at the end of Georgia’s bed and the risk that Robbie feels Georgia may be too young for him and therefore she must try to make him burn with jealousosity – well life is not peaches and cream, is it?

If you read my review of Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging, you can almost use just one word for my feelings regarding On the Bright Side, I’m Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God.

Ditto.

That’s right! Yet again, Georgia’s diary entries are non-stop comedy – awesome hilarity that will rattle your bones with laughter! I literally start giggling, harrumphing, etc., out loud when reading it – no matter where I am at the time.

Being an unapologetic British teen novel, it is crass and racy and does NOT present Georgia as a role model – though I don’t deny that she would be a riot as a friend!

Book two introduces some new characters – in particular Dave the Laugh – a romantic interest that I felt rather attached to as his matching wits with Georgia was highly enjoyable.

These are unabashedly fun, entertaining books that are great to fully embrace.

And don’t worry about what anyone thinks when they see the title of the book you’re reading – we’re bibliophiles and those other common folk don’t know what they’re missing!

Hee hee!

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The Rules of Survival

The Rules of Survival is a YA contemporary novel by Nancy Werlin.

A life of tension and walking on eggshells is all Matt and his younger sisters are used to as their daily lives dramatically shift with their mother’s violent, startling mood swings.

As the oldest, Matt has learned to attempt to pull the attention on him when their mother turns more erratically aggressive, but it does not always work. Sometimes Callie or the little one Emmy end up being the victims – either when he’s not there to stop her… or when she’s too determined to be distracted.

It’s a life of fear and survival – every second of every day.

When Matt sees a man named Murdoch protect a young child from an abusive father in a public place, a part of him soars with a hope he long thought was dead.

Could this man – this man that had the courage to stand up to that steely-eyed father – help them too?

Matt knows it’s time to take action…

It’s been a while since I’ve read a Nancy Werlin novel but my prior experiences have been very positive. I’ve read The Killer’s Cousin, Locked Inside, Black Mirror and Double Helix – all of which were amazing, as I recall.

The Rules of Survival was no exception.

In fact, it was much more than that.

This is a harrowing, disturbing, edgy depiction of children in a state of constant trepidation with a mother frighteningly unstable and downright terrifying. The portrayal is never over the top and the narration, which is of Matt telling his youngest sister Emmy about this time of their lives via a written letter, feels very, very real.

With how tired and busy I am after working hard all week, it’s been a while since I’ve read an entire book in one sitting. But that’s what happened with The Rules of Survival – I devoured the whole thing, which is admittedly only 250 pages – in one Saturday afternoon.

Why? Because it is horrifying, gripping, nerve-wracking and impossible to put down due to the investment in these poor children – and the need to know what is going to happen.

By the end I was wowed by how enormously, powerfully touching and memorable The Rules of Survival was.

Strongly, strongly recommended.

My interest in Nancy Werlin has been reignited, no doubt.

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