Hello, Goodbye and Everything in Between | Jennifer E. Smith

88/100

On the night before they leave for college, Clare and Aidan only have one thing left to do: figure out whether they should stay together or break up. Over the course of twelve hours, they'll retrace the steps of their relationship, trying to find something in their past that might help them decide what their future should be. The night will lead them to friends and family, familiar landmarks and unexpected places, hard truths and surprising revelations. But as the clock winds down and morning approaches, so does their inevitable goodbye. The question is, will it be goodbye for now or goodbye forever?

+3 Cover Design 

While this isn't the best cover I've seen, I absolutely love the font of the title. Any title with this font automatically gets some points. I also really like the color scheme of the cover, but the actual image of the cover seems a bit cliché.

+5 Writing Style

Smith does a fantastic job of weaving all the parts of the story together in a way that's interesting and deep.

+3 Plot Development

While the entirety of the book was more of an emotional journey over a physical one, a majority of the book had good plot development. I particularly loved the flashbacks where we got to see the development of their relationship. While I understood the indecision our protagonist was struggling through, near the end the problem less significant than it started.

+5 Character Relationships 

This entire book focused on relationships. Boyfriend-girlfriend relationship, father-son relationships, best friend-best friend relationships. And they were fleshed out so perfectly. Every interaction had some sort of significance, no dialogue seemed unnecessary and out of place. 

+3 Character Development

Since the span of the book is over the course of one night, we don't really see much development in the characters individually. But we do see a lot of development in their relationships with one another, which compensates for the lack of individuality of the characters.

+3 Likability of Protagonist

I have no complains about Clare or Aiden. I related a little more to Clare in her practicality of thinking, but I wasn't in love with her. I could see how Aiden is a fantastic boyfriend and individual, but again I didn't love him as much as I have with other characters.

+4 Necessity of Minor Characters

While the minor characters weren't necessary to the plot itself, they were extremely important in the development of different character relationships. These minor characters shaped the situation that set up the book, but didn't do as much for the storyline during the book. 

+5 Setting Description

A good chunk of this book focused on the setting since each particular place they stopped had a significant impact on their relationship. I really think that Smith did a fantastic job with giving us enough detail so we could realistically picture the scenes in our minds without being overloaded with unnecessary detail.

+4 Interesting Storyline

Personally I really enjoyed this book and I think a lot of it had to do with how close the scenes in this book hit home. While I'm not saying goodbye to a first love or anything like that, I am leaving for college soon and in the same way I have to say goodbye to all my friends. Like in the book I have friends staying right here and I have friends going as far as California.

+3 Predictability

I wasn't really looking towards whether or not Clare and Aiden would stay together. While I was reading it, I was more living in the moment of their relationship, not really worrying whether or not they were going to stay together.

+50 Finished

Final Total: 88/100; B+ 

This is more of an emotional book than an action-packed one. But it's a fantastic summer read and I definitely recommend it as a good way to feel nostalgic, especially if you're like me and about to start college.

Girl Online | Zoe Sugg

I had no idea GirlOnline would take off the way it has - I can't believe I now have 5432 followers, thanks so much! - and the thought of opening up to you all about this is terrifying, but here goes...

Penny has a secret.

Under the alias GirlOnline, she blogs about school dramas, boys, her mad, whirlwind family - and the panic attacks she's suffered from lately. When things go from bad to worse, her family whisks her away to New York, where she meets the gorgeous, guitar-strumming Noah. Suddenly Penny is falling in love - and capturing every moment of it on her blog.

But Noah has a secret too. One that threatens to ruin Penny's cover - and her closest friendship - forever.

Before I even begin to discuss the book and how conflicted I am, I want to spend a little time talking about the author and the "scandal" that surrounded this book. Apparently, Zoella, YouTube beauty vlogger, decided to write and publish a book, a YA fiction book at that, and with over a million subscribers, she did just that. Girl Online has had record sales in its first week, comparable to those of Harry Potter, but of course there's a catch. This book was ghostwritten, meaning that while Zoe might have had the idea, there was a person (or a group of people) behind the scenes actually putting the words together. To be quite honest, I didn't know ghost writing was a frequented route for many authors, but it only makes sense when so many celebrities have their own book. I admit, I was hesitant to read her book. The plot seemed uninteresting, and the fact that Zoe didn't write the book herself yet took credit anyways is oddly unnerving. 

I will also admit that after reading this book I am pleasantly surprised. I think this would make a good coming of age book for girls between the ages of 11 and 15, anyone younger may not understand the "coming of age" aspect of this book, and anyone older might see through the plot and characters, finding the glaring gaps between the story and reality.

Even as I type this, I'm still conflicted about how I feel. Whilst I read it, emotions of giddiness and adorableness bubbled up inside me, due to the romance BUT the sharp deviations from reality really brought the book down for me. Do I recommend it? I have no idea. It's definitely not a bad read, but the lack of realism may be a turn off for some people.

Love and Other Foreign Words | Erin McCahan

Can anyone be truly herself--or truly in love--in a language that's not her own?

Sixteen-year-old Josie lives her life in translation. She speaks High School, College, Friends, Boyfriends, Break-ups, and even the language of Beautiful Girls. But none of these is her native tongue -- the only people who speak that are her best friend Stu and her sister Kate. So when Kate gets engaged to an epically insufferable guy, how can Josie see it as anything but the mistake of a lifetime? Kate is determined to bend Josie to her will for the wedding; Josie is determined to break Kate and her fiancé up. As battles are waged over secrets and semantics, Josie is forced to examine her feelings for the boyfriend who says he loves her, the sister she loves but doesn't always like, and the best friend who hasn't said a word -- at least not in a language Josie understands.

I've noticed a pattern whenever I read a love story starring a nerdy girl. 

We begin getting to know the character and all her little idiosyncrasies: 

A guy starts liking her and they get close and start sorta having a relationship: 

The girl messes up the relationship because of her inability to love or trust anyone. 

The girl learns to love and they get back together and have a happily ever after. 

It happens every time. But I still liked this book, and I'm still going to read every other book like this. It's a vicious cycle. But I still do recommend this book as a cute contemporary. 

What I Thought Was True | Huntley Fitzpatrick

From the acclaimed author of My Life Next Door comes a swoony summertime romance full of expectation and regret, humor and hard questions.

Gwen Castle has never so badly wanted to say good-bye to her island home till now: the summer her Biggest Mistake Ever, Cassidy Somers, takes a job there as the local yard boy. He's a rich kid from across the bridge in Stony Bay, and she hails from a family of fishermen and housecleaners who keep the island's summer people happy. Gwen worries a life of cleaning houses will be her fate too, but just when it looks like she'll never escape her past—or the island—Gwen's dad gives her some shocking advice. Sparks fly and secret histories unspool as Gwen spends a gorgeous, restless summer struggling to resolve what she thought was true—about the place she lives, the people she loves, and even herself—with what really is.

A magnetic, push-you-pull-me romance with depth, this is for fans of Sarah Dessen, Jenny Han, and Deb Caletti

In the mood for a cute adorable love story, I picked this book up, expecting it to just as great, if not better then My Life Next Door. (MLND) Being completely honest, I wasn't satisfied. While the setting created a picturesque scene for a beautiful love story, I didn't relate to any of the characters and wasn't too fond of the setting. While in MLND I could picture myself as Samantha, good grade, only child, etc. I couldn't picture myself as Gwen. Many of her actions throughout the book made me think:

She was super contradictory and hypocritical throughout the whole book and I just really didn't like her. 

Another problem I had, although more of a personal preference, was the choice of names in this book. Samantha and Jase from MLND vs. Gwen and Cassidy. Cassidy? Cassidy is definitely a girl's name, which left me so confused throughout most of this book. 

I will admit that I usually am a bit harsh with love stories, there are certain things that just have to be perfect in order to work. And while MLND was perfection, this one wasn't. And although I didn't like it, you might! So don't let me discourage you! 

Let's Get Lost | Adi Alsaid

Five strangers. Countless adventures. One epic way to get lost. 

Four teens across the country have only one thing in common: a girl named LEILA. She crashes into their lives in her absurdly red car at the moment they need someone the most. 

There's HUDSON, a small-town mechanic who is willing to throw away his dreams for true love. And BREE, a runaway who seizes every Tuesday—and a few stolen goods along the way. ELLIOT believes in happy endings…until his own life goes off-script. And SONIA worries that when she lost her boyfriend, she also lost the ability to love. 

Hudson, Bree, Elliot and Sonia find a friend in Leila. And when Leila leaves them, their lives are forever changed. But it is during Leila's own 4,268-mile journey that she discovers the most important truth— sometimes, what you need most is right where you started. And maybe the only way to find what you're looking for is to get lost along the way.

I really disliked this book, with too many high expectations that simply weren’t met. Going into the book, I was told that this book resembled Papertowns by John Green, and although I can see the similarities, in my eyes Papertowns was a much better read.

Spoiler-Filled Discussion 

A successful contemporary story has a lot of different factors that need to be considered during the writing and editing process. These include the characters, the setting, the storyline, and the climax. All of them need to work in perfect harmony with each other to create the beautiful symphony of a story. In this book, each aspect had a different sound, creating a cacophony over a melody.

The characters were so bland. It wasn’t that I didn’t like them; it was that I didn’t know them. Over the span of a couple hundred pages, we were introduced to so many characters: Hudson, Leila, Sonia, Dee, and a few others whose names I don’t even remember. They all served for a singular purpose and then disappeared from the story altogether. Even Leila, our protagonist, was a complete stranger to me. As she interacts with all the other characters, she serves as just a side character, and rather than slowly learning things about her throughout the story, we learn nothing until at the end, within the short range of fifteen pages.

The storyline in this book was unenticing and boring. The story was literally this: a girl drives to Alaska in a red car. Along the way, she stops and makes a friend. None of it added up to make a cohesive storyline. Each event seemed separate and unrelated. While most stories have a plotline that builds towards a big finish, this book had no big finish. The ending was predictable and unrealistic. From start to finish, Leila is practically the same character, just a bit more disappointed and resigned by the end.

I think a better ending should have involved all of the characters, not just Hudson, because that would have been really interesting to see.

Generally, I was very disappointed with this book. BookCon, Barnes and Noble, everywhere I went, I saw this book and because of all it’s publicity I was convinced it was going to be great. Weeks later, with the book finished, I’m just not satisfied. Several factors could have been improved to create a better and more exciting read.

Meant to Be | Lauren Morril

Meant to be or not meant to be . . . that is the question. 

It's one thing to fall head over heels into a puddle of hazelnut coffee, and quite another to fall for the—gasp—wrong guy. Straight-A junior Julia may be accident prone, but she's queen of following rules and being prepared. That's why she keeps a pencil sharpener in her purse and a pocket Shakespeare in her, well, pocket. And that's also why she's chosen Mark Bixford, her childhood crush, as her MTB ("meant to be").

But this spring break, Julia's rules are about to get defenestrated (SAT word: to be thrown from a window) when she's partnered with her personal nemesis, class-clown Jason, on a school trip to London. After one wild party, Julia starts receiving romantic texts . . . from an unknown number! Jason promises to help discover the identity of her mysterious new suitor if she agrees to break a few rules along the way. And thus begins a wild goose chase through London, leading Julia closer and closer to the biggest surprise of all: true love.

Because sometimes the things you least expect are the most meant to be.

I'm a sucker for cute contemporary love stories as much as any teenage girl, but I will admit I am a bit more critical of them. A good love story, in my opinion, is one of the hardest things to write. Every component has to be perfect. The characters have to be relatable and likable. The setting has to be realistic and believable. The romance itself has to be cute and natural. There's a very thin line between cute and cliché and it's so easy to cross that line.

As much as this book wasn't perfect, it was one of the better love stories. The characters were believable and real, the environment was beautiful, and most of the romance natural.