Neurotic Thoughts - One Moment Book Review

One Moment
Author: Kristina McBride
Expected Release Date: June 26, 2012
Genre: YA Contemporary
Published By: EgmontUSA
Source: EgmontUSA and NetGalley
Summary from Goodreads:

This was supposed to be the best summer of Maggie’s life. Now it’s the one she’d do anything to forget.

Maggie Reynolds remembers hanging out at the gorge with her closest friends after a blowout party the night before. She remembers climbing the trail hand in hand with her perfect boyfriend, Joey. She remembers that last kiss, soft, lingering, and meant to reassure her. So why can’t she remember what happened in the moment before they were supposed to dive? Why was she left cowering at the top of the cliff, while Joey floated in the water below—dead?

As Maggie’s memories return in snatches, nothing seems to make sense. Why was Joey acting so strangely at the party? Where did he go after taking her home? And if Joey was keeping these secrets, what else was he hiding?

The latest novel from the author of The Tension of Opposites, One Moment is a mysterious, searing look at how an instant can change everything you believe about the world around you.

One Moment kept me reading mostly because I really needed to know what had happened between Maggie and Joey up on the cliff. I would get to the point where I would think I had it all figured out, and then I would be thrown for a loop. I did finally figure it out on my own though, and way before poor Maggie was able to get it. Once I had figured out the main "mystery" the rest of the story was a tad predictable.


I really enjoyed the first few chapters of One Moment and I was bawling by page 17. However, soon after that I really did feel like the only reason I was still reading was to see if I was right and had figured it out. The writing wasn't bad, the story wasn't bad, I just never fell in love with any of the characters. 


I did feel like Kristina McBride did an excellent job of portraying how different people grieve when they lose someone they love. 


PLOT: I kept feeling like I had read this book before. I finally realized that the death scene was very similar to another book I had read. Other than that I thought the plot was pretty decent. Romance with a bit of mystery. Possibly a bit forgettable for me. 
CHARACTERS: a little blah for my taste.
WRITING: Not bad
ENDING: Satisfying 
KID FRIENDLY: I don't remember anything shouting out to me as not kid friendly
OVERALL: I wanted to finish quickly so I would know what all the drama was about, and so that I could move on to the next book on my shelves.

Neurotic Thoughts on Geek Girl

Geek Girl
Author: Cindy C Bennett
Release Date: December 6, 2011 (First published June, 2010)
Genre: YA Contemporary
Publisher: Cedar Fort
Source: NetGalley
Pages: 281
ISBN: 1599559250
Summary from Goodreads:
Jen's life of partying and sneaking out has grown stale. So on a whim, Jen makes a bet to turn Trevor, a goody-two-shoes geek, into a "bad boy." As she hangs out with Trevor, however, she finds it's actually kinda fun being a geek. But when Trevor finds out about the bet, Jen must fight for the things she's discovered matter most: friendship, family, and, above all, love.

My Thoughts:
Cindy Bennett took a story that has been told before and totally made it her own. Even though I've seen the movies with similar plots, and knew the ending before it happened this was still a really great read. The whole time I was reading I kept thinking "I know how this is going to end" but I didn't want it to end because the getting to the ending was so much fun. 


At first I thought I was going to hate Jen. I mean what kind of person makes a bet that ultimately will end up hurting someone? Soon you realize that maybe Jen just needed someone good in her life to make her realize that she wasn't as "bad" as she thought she was. She has not had the easiest life and she is basically living her life in survival mode. When she manages to spend some time with Trevor she starts to lose the shell and you realize that Jen is a good person at heart. Trevor is my favorite character in this book. I loved reading about a guy that didn't start out as this gorgeous, perfect boy that all the girls wanted, but turns out as this confident, amazing guy that any girl would be lucky to have. Reading about both Jen and Trevor was a great reminder that people aren't always what they seem. 


For such a fun book it really touches on some dark issues and handles them in such a way that you understand how grave the situation is but, you see that Jen is able to survive them. Sometimes just learning how to survive can keep you alive long enough to live again. 


I don't usually compare books to other books but, if you have been a fan of Stephanie Perkins' books: Anna and the French Kiss or Lola and the Boy Next Door then I think you will love this book as well. Something about Geek Girl has a very similar feel. It's the kind of book that won't change your life but it will make you happy and give you the warm fuzzies while you read it. I laughed, I cried, and I can definitely see reading this book again. I highly recommend Geek Girl! 

Here is another cover for Geek Girl. Which one do you like better? 


You can visit Cindy's blog at: http://www.cindycbennett.com/

I love this quote by Jen: "But what I learned was that I could be devastated and survive. That just because one good thing goes away, it doesn't necessarily mean all the good things have to go away, even if the one good thing that did is the best thing. Does this make sense?" 

Queen of the Dead (The Ghost and the Goth #2) - Reviewed

Queen of the Dead (The Ghost and the Goth #2)
Author: Stacey Kade
Expected Release Date: June 7th 2011
Publisher: Hyperion
Pages: 288
Target Age: Young Adult
Source: Received by Hyperion through NetGalley
Summary from Goodreads:
After being sent back from the light, Alona Dare - former homecoming queen, current Queen of the Dead - finds herself doing something she never expected: working. Instead of spending days perfecting her tan by the pool (her typical summer routine when she was, you know, alive), Alona must now cater to the needs of other lost spirits. By her side for all of this - ugh - “helping of others” is Will Killian: social outcast, seer of the dead, and someone Alona cares about more than she’d like.
Before Alona can make a final ruling on Will’s “friend” or “more” status, though, she discovers trouble at home. Her mom is tossing out Alona’s most valuable possessions, and her dad is expecting a new daughter with his wicked wife. Is it possible her family is already moving on? Hello! She’s only been dead for two months! Thankfully, Alona knows just the guy who can put a stop to this mess.
Unfortunately for Alona, Will has other stuff on his mind, and Mina, a young (and beautiful) seer, is at the top of the list. She’s the first ghost-talker Will’s ever met—aside from his father—and she may hold answers to Will’s troubled past. But can she be trusted? Alona immediately puts a check mark in the “clearly not” column. But Will is - ahem - willing to find out, even if it means leaving a hurt and angry Alona to her own devices, which is never a good idea. 

My Thoughts:

I was so excited to read Queen of the Dead after the major book love I had for The Ghost and The Goth, and while I wasn't disappointed in any way I didn't love it quite as much as the first book. It's definitely worth reading, and I think it will tie the first and third book together really well. I think I was thrown just the tiniest bit by how much darker this book felt. 

We learn a lot about Will and Alona separately this time, and get a glimpse of how they are feeling about their particular situations. I was constantly surprised and sometimes shocked by this story. I really enjoyed being thrown into the story without being able to predict the outcome as if I had written the story myself. Stacey Kade really does an amazing job of writing a unique story line with great characters. 

Reader's Beware: 

Queen of the Dead definitely has a darker feel to it than book 1(which is not a bad thing, I just wasn't expecting it) and the ending is quite a cliffhanger. There is no way you will read this book and not wish that you had book 3 in your hands. 

Uneartly - Reviewed

Unearthly
Author: Cynthia Hand
Release Date: January 2011
Publisher: Harper Teen
Pages: 435
Target Age: Young Adult
Source: Received from Harper Teen through NetGalley
Summary from Goodreads:

In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees . . . .

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy.
Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place—and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.
As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make—between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?

After reading a few different Angel on Earth books and liking some of them, I was wondering if this book was going to be more of the same.  I'm happy to report that it is not.  After starting out a little slow (and I thought predictable) this book really picked up and even threw me for a loop now and again. For the most part I really liked the characters in Unearthly with the exception of Clara's mother.  She tells Clara as little as possible about what it means to be part Angel. This leaves Clara full of questions, and willing to find the answers anywhere she can.  I'm hoping her reasons for doing this are revealed in the next book.  What about the ever present YA love triangle?  There is one, but there isn't.  Sorry, I can't go into much more than that without giving anything away, and you know I won't do that.  Just trust me when I say this isn't your typical love triangle, it's new and different and I loved it! Really, if you like books about Angels at all, then I think you will be impressed by Cynthia Hand's original tale.