Tag: high school

REVIEW: Full Flight by Ashley Schumacher

REVIEW: Full Flight by Ashley Schumacher

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Wednesday Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Weston is the outcast in the town of Enfield. In a small town, everyone knows your business. So everyone knows about his parents’ divorce, about the year he spent at the rival high school. And the things they don’t know, they make up with rumor and assumption. Everyone but his closest friends thinks he’s weird at best if not actually dangerous.

Anna is an unexpected bright spot in Weston’s life. While they are supposed to be practicing their big duet for marching band, they are finding in each other someone who, surprisingly, GETS them – his struggles after the divorce, her anxiety, his music, her writing.

But since everyone assumes the worst about Weston, Anna feels she has to hide and lie to be with him. But in a small town, no one keeps a secret for long.

Review

I have to be honest. The synopsis for this book did not grab me when I read it. But the author wrote my favorite book of 2021. So reading this one was a given. While I read, my feelings were mixed.

I loved Anna and Weston, both as individuals and together. And the author’s writing is top notch. But I just did not get this story. For so long, nothing was happening. Sure, they grew closer, they faced some roadblocks. But things just kept rolling along. I couldn’t figure out the point of it all.

I’ve described my ideal book a lot here. A big piece of my enjoyment is the puzzle or the quest – something to solve, something to overcome, something to rail against. This just isn’t that sort of book.

I have no idea how to rate this – I was engrossed in the characters and enjoyed the writing. On that alone, I would probably give this 4 stars. But I just couldn’t connect to the plot. And the ending did not help my enjoyment of the story. The whole reading experience was unsatisfying in the end.

Readers who love character-rich stories and don’t care about driving plots are likely a much better audience for this than I was. There’s a lot here to enjoy if you are excited about watching a relationship unfold over time with some fantastic descriptions – especially if you have a soft spot for band stories. (Language, sex, TW: Grief)

Rating: ♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥ = Good, solid, fine

REVIEW: Lucky Caller by Emma Mills

REVIEW: Lucky Caller by Emma Mills

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Henry Holt and Co. in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Nina is in her last semester of high school. Her mom is newly engaged. And she’s partnered with Jamie, the last person she wanted in her group for her broadcasting class.

The early weeks of their show are rocky. Jamie is choosing the music for their 90s shows. Sasha works on publicity. Joydeep is their on-air host, and Nina is the producer.

The problems are hard to miss. Their host is wooden on air, they’ve had technical difficulties, and they’ve accidentally broadcast some language and conversations that should NOT have been aired.

To salvage their show, they decide to hint at a secret guest coming to the show. Nina’s dad, a radio personality, would be ideal to speak not only on the air but also to their class. They run into a few problems, though, when their listeners start making their own assumptions about the secret guest, and when Nina is reluctant to even ask her dad to come.

Review

There were several parts of this that I loved. There are some great laugh-out-loud moments. And I loved the game of pretend Nina and her sisters played with Jamie when they were kids. The climax of the radio show plot thread was fantastic!

But getting to those great moments took a lot of work for me as a reader. The development of the romance was slow, especially the reveal of the original fracture between Nina and Jamie. The story meandered a bit through their awkwardness and her mom’s engagement, and some of the radio things. I prefer stories with clear motives and goals from the outset. This story is more subtle than that.

Readers who enjoy a slower unfolding of the story – the pieces are all there, but you have to wait awhile to put them all together for the big picture – should check this out. And the big moment with the secret interview was the main thing that made the journey worthwhile for me. (Language)

Rating: ♥♥♥½

REVIEW: The Map From Here to There by Emery Lord

REVIEW: The Map From Here to There by Emery Lord

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Bloomsbury YA in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Paige and Max are back together again after a summer spent apart (The Start of Me and You – ♥♥♥♥). She went to New York for a screenwriting program, and when she returned, he had left for a study abroad program in Italy. They had become a couple and had their first kiss and then had gone their separate ways. But now they are together again in their Indianapolis suburb, ready to start senior year.

Senior year brings so many emotions, decisions and pressures. And those things start to weigh heavily on Paige. Is she doing enough with her extra curricular activities? Is her college portfolio strong enough? What should she write in her essays? And where does her relationship with Max fit into her decision making process?

As Paige tries to deal with these huge questions about her future, her anxiety starts to build. An accident triggers an even stronger response, and soon all of her relationships start to suffer. What if everything she thought was a strong foundation crumbled under her feet?

Review

As the mom of a high school student, Paige’s struggles with the weight of college decisions felt very real and absolutely accurate. I love that young people have access to this terrific story that could help them put into words the pressures they are feeling.

There are many moments I loved in this – the discussion of Max’s Hogwarts House, the way’s Paige’s friends see her and understand her and help her understand herself better, the love shown to The Phantom Tollbooth, and the ways that Paige fights for her friendships through hard things. (It reminded me of the book Love Lettering, which I’ll review next week – learning to have healthy conflict and stick with working through it.)

This is a quiet story – introspective and deep. And it took some work for me. There’s a lot happening for Paige emotionally. And she’s pressing through to discern what she thinks and feels. It doesn’t come easily to her. And the reader gets to wrestle through it with her. I loved it, but it’s not surface-y or breezy. It’s deep and rich. I didn’t click with this one to the degree I did with the author’s earlier book, The Names They Gave Us, which was one of my top books for 2017. But I feel like the author does an exceptional job of describing teen struggles so readers have a chance to identify with and feel seen with her characters.

Readers looking for a mental health angle in their books should be sure to check this one out. There are some good pieces here about anxiety (Language, drinking)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: It's Not Me, It's You by Stephanie Kate Strohm

REVIEW: It’s Not Me, It’s You by Stephanie Kate Strohm

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

When Avery Dennis is dumped just a couple weeks before her senior prom, she is stunned. Avery is chair of prom committee! She’s ultra popular. She’s smart and pretty. She has had a boyfriend almost non-stop since the first day of middle school.

Avery Dennis does not get dumped!

But Fortune smiled on Avery because she was dumped at the same time she was assigned an oral history report for History. Maybe, if Avery can look back at her own history, specifically her dating history, she can figure out how she is now date-less right before the prom. It’s probably not the assignment her teacher had in mind, but this is important!

Review

Wow. I loved this book! I was intrigued by the premise. Honestly, I expected Avery to be something of a mean-girl diva type who goes through this process to see herself as others see her. But that’s not really Avery at all. She’s smart and earnest and genuine. Yes, she has shallow moments. But those make her even more endearing as you see her trying to gain insight and mature.

I had no idea this would be so FUNNY! Avery has such a fantastic “voice,” enhanced by the format of the book. All of the characters – the best friend, the exes, the lab partner, the nemesis – are all so well written. There are great sarcastic moments, pop culture references, and just funny moments between the characters as they relate to one another and respond to what they learn in the project.

I was so delighted by this story! I will absolutely read this again and tell everyone I see about how fun this was. And I will be checking out the author’s other works.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: Going Geek by Charlotte Huang

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Skylar is about to start her senior year at her prestigious East Coast boarding school. But already things aren’t going like she planned. Her parents are having money troubles. So instead of interning at her mom’s movie production company over the summer break, Skylar had to work at their club – as a waitress. Then her school says there’s been a housing shake up and she loses her prime spot in the best dorm with all of her friends. Then when everyone finds out about how she really spent her summer, and that she kept it all secret from them, she loses what little normalcy she has left. This was not how her senior year was supposed to go!

Review

Books (and Hallmark Channel movies)  tend to work in one of two ways. Either things start out great, hit a major snag near the three-quarters point and then resolve or everything falls apart at the start and the character has to claw his or her way back. This book fits the second scenario. Bit by bit, Skylar loses everything that was important to her. She loses her identity. And you cringe as you read it because it is painful.

But things slowly start to change. Skylar gives her new situation a chance. She opens up to new people. She discovers some things about herself. And it’s an immensely satisfying journey! I really loved Skylar’s new community – and the person she becomes when she opens herself up to them. If the author decides to write a sequel, I would totally read it! (Some language)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥