Review: Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour

Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour
Format: Hardcover
Published by Dutton Juvenile on 15th May 2014
Pages: 307
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Rating: 
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A love letter to the craft and romance of film and fate in front of—and behind—the camera from the award-winning author of Hold Still.

A wunderkind young set designer, Emi has already started to find her way in the competitive Hollywood film world.

Emi is a film buff and a true romantic, but her real-life relationships are a mess. She has desperately gone back to the same girl too many times to mention. But then a mysterious letter from a silver screen legend leads Emi to Ava. Ava is unlike anyone Emi has ever met. She has a tumultuous, not-so-glamorous past, and lives an unconventional life. She’s enigmatic…. She’s beautiful. And she is about to expand Emi’s understanding of family, acceptance, and true romance.

I'd been waiting for Nina LaCour to write a romance with two girls since I read Hold Still back when it came out (and loved it), so I did a happy dance when I first heard about Everything Leads to You and saw its gorgeous cover and intriguing blurb. But guess what? It turns out that the romance wasn't the best thing about this book. In fact, I was possibly a little disappointed by the romance, but more on that later. Why did I like this book so much? Because Emi's world, the world of set design, was simply enchanting.

Review: Ask Again Later by Liz Czukas

Ask Again Later by Liz Czukas
Format: Paperback
Published by HarperTeen on 11th March 2014
Pages: 336
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Rating: 
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Despite what her name might suggest, Heart has zero interest in complicated romance. So when her brilliant plan to go to prom with a group of friends is disrupted by two surprise invites, Heart knows there's only one drama-free solution: flip a coin.

Heads: The jock. He might spend all night staring at his ex or throw up in the limo, but how bad can her brother's best friend really be?

Tails: The theater geek...with a secret. What could be better than a guy who shares all Heart's interests—even if he wants to share all his feelings?

Heart's simple coin flip has somehow given her the chance to live out both dates. But where her prom night ends up might be the most surprising thing of all...

Well, this was a quick and fun read! I wasn't blown away, but it was an enjoyable way to pass a couple hours, and the voice was a delight, funny and engaging.

Review: Amy & Matthew by Cammie McGovern

Amy & Matthew by Cammie McGovern (also known as Say What You Will in the US)
Format: Paperback
Published by Macmillan Children's Books on 27th March 2014
Pages: 336
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Rating: 
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This is the story of Amy and Matthew. It's about being different. It's about feeling alone. It's about finding each other. It's about falling in love.

I don't know whether I just read this book at the wrong time or what, but I feel like any thoughts I have about the book are sort of swamped in a haze. I just can't seem to figure out how I feel about it.

I was really drawn to this book at first because Matthew has OCD and the whole premise of this story made it seem like it was the closest I was going to get to reading a book about a girl who falls in love with a guy who suffers from anxiety. (As I've said before, my boyfriend suffers from anxiety.) In the end, I figure the world kind of still needs another story like that, because this one didn't quite work out for me.

Review: Dr Bird's Advice for Sad Poets by Evan Roskos

Dr Bird's Advice for Sad Poets by Evan Roskos
Format: Hardcover
Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt on 5th March 2013
Pages: 310
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Rating: 
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“I hate myself but I love Walt Whitman, the kook. Always positive. I need to be more positive, so I wake myself up every morning with a song of myself.”

Sixteen-year-old James Whitman has been yawping (à la Whitman) at his abusive father ever since he kicked his beloved older sister, Jorie, out of the house. James’s painful struggle with anxiety and depression—along with his ongoing quest to understand what led to his self-destructive sister’s exile—make for a heart-rending read, but his wild, exuberant Whitmanization of the world and keen sense of humor keep this emotionally charged debut novel buoyant.

James Whitman is a teenage boy who loves Walt Whitman. He loves poetry and photography and trees and birds. He hugs trees to make himself feel better. He suffers from anxiety and depression and has an imaginary pigeon as his therapist. His parents are abusive, and his sister no longer lives in the house with them, ever since she got into a fight at school and was expelled and subsequently kicked out of the house. He wants his sister back.

This book is about James trying to get his sister back. Trying to figure out what exactly happened that led to her getting expelled. Trying to understand her more, and realising they have more in common than he'd thought. And that everything is more complicated than it seems.

It's about James dealing with his anxiety and depression, confronting the problems in his life, learning to stand up for himself and for his sister.

Mini-review: I Don't Want to Be Crazy by Samantha Schutz

I Don't Want to Be Crazy by Samantha Schutz
Format: Paperback
Published by Push on 1st August 2007 (first published on 1st July 2006)
Pages: 288
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Memoir
Rating: 
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The harrowing, remarkable poetry memoir about one girl's struggle with anxiety disorder.

This is a true story of growing up, breaking down, and coming to grips with a psychological disorder. When Samantha Schutz first left home for college, she was excited by the possibilities – freedom from parents, freedom from a boyfriend who was reckless with her affections, freedom from the person she was supposed to be. At first, she revelled in the independence... but as pressures increased, she began to suffer anxiety attacks that would leave her mentally shaken and physically incapacitated. Thus began a hard road of discovery and coping, powerfully rendered in this poetry memoir.

I'm finding this book very difficult to review, for some reason.

It's not an easy read either. It's a verse memoir documenting one girl's life as she leaves home for college and how she begins to suffer from anxiety. I Don't Want to Be Crazy traces Samantha Schutz's through her college years, from just after she finishes high school, to when she's got one of her first jobs after college.

It shows us Samantha as she keeps trying, time and time again, with therapists and medication, to recover from anxiety; she thinks she gets better but the anxiety resurfaces, worse than before, and grips her again. It's a very intense read. There are detailed descriptions of what anxiety attacks are like for her. It's terrifying and sad and, as the blurb promises, "harrowing". Because recovery isn't a smooth process for her, or for most people suffering from mental illnesses. It's awful and scary to be confronted with the reality of that, of how you take medication and then stop taking it for months and think you're better now only to plunge into even worse anxiety attacks than before.

I felt very empty and depressed reading it. I've always known that this is the reality of things, but to read about it, about one girl's real struggles with anxiety, was really tough. I feel like it's a very important book though, to help and to inform, because a lot of people don't realise that this is how severe anxiety can really be. How it can really take over your life and make you unable to carry on as normal. If you're seeking to understand anxiety more, this is a good read. It's very well-written and the ending is a glimmer of hope. But yeah. It's a heavy read. Very real and devastating at times. Only read if you're prepared for the reality of the way things are.

Book Blitz: Fan Art by Sarah Tregay + Giveaway!

Fan Art by Sarah Tregay
Published by Harper Teen on 17th June 2014
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Book Depository
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When the picture tells the story…



Senior year is almost over, and Jamie Peterson has a big problem. Not college—that’s all set. Not prom—he’ll find a date somehow. No, it’s the worst problem of all: he’s fallen for his best friend.



As much as Jamie tries to keep it under wraps, everyone seems to know where his affections lie, and the giggling girls in art class are determined to help Jamie get together with Mason. But Jamie isn’t sure if that’s what he wants—because as much as Jamie would like to come clean to Mason, what if the truth ruins everything? What if there are no more road trips, taco dinners, or movie nights? Does he dare risk a childhood friendship for romance?



This book is about what happens when a picture reveals what we can’t say, when art is truer than life, and how falling in love is easy, except when it’s not. Fan Art explores the joys and pains of friendship, of pressing boundaries, and how facing our worst fears can sometimes lead us to what we want most.


Book Blitz Organized by: YA Bound Book Tours
This book comes out today and I am super excited to share this excerpt with you all! This is an LGBTQ contemporary and it seems really fun and light-hearted. There's prom! And crushing on your best friend when he's apparently straight. I really want to read this; hopefully I can get my hands on a copy soon. But for my US/Canada readers, there's a giveaway at the end of this post for 2 signed ARCs of the book! Whoo!

Review: Crazy by Amy Reed

Crazy by Amy Reed
Format: eBook
Published by Simon Pulse on 12th June 2014
Pages: 384
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Rating: 
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He's falling in love, and she's falling over the edge of sanity. From the author of Beautiful and Clean, a heartwrenching exploration of a romance marred by mental illness.

Connor knows that Izzy will never fall in love with him the way he's fallen for her. But somehow he's been let into her crazy, exhilarating world and become her closest confidante. But the closer they get, the more Connor realizes that Izzy's highs are too high and her lows are too low. And the frenetic energy that makes her shine is starting to push her into a much darker place.

As Izzy's behavior gets increasingly erratic and self-destructive, Connor gets increasingly desperate to stop her from plummeting. He knows he can't save her from her pain...but what if no one else can?

This book was startlingly good. It swallowed me up in its darkness and complexity and sheer beauty and I am just in awe of this powerful and emotionally gripping story that Amy Reed has crafted. I want to read all her other books now.

Crazy is about Isabel and Connor, two teenagers who meet when they're working at a summer camp together. The book begins in September, after summer has ended and they have gone their separate ways. It begins with an email from Connor.

Book Blitz: My Best Friend, Maybe by Caela Carter + Giveaway!

My Best Friend, Maybe by Caela Carter
Published by Bloomsbury on 3rd June 2014
Purchase from: Amazon
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Colette has been bored and lonely ever since her best friend, Sadie, dumped her the summer before they stared high school. She tries to be perfect for everyone left in her life: her parents, her younger brothers, her church youth group, even her boyfriend, Mark. But Colette is restless. And she misses Sadie.

When Sadie tells Colette that she needs her old friend to join her on a family vacation to the Greek Islands, one that leaves in only a few days, Colette is shocked to hear their old magic word: need. And she finds herself agreeing.

Colette tries to relax and enjoy her Grecian surroundings but it’s not easy to go on vacation with the person who hurt you most in the world. When the reason for the trip finally surfaces, Colette finds out this is not only a fun vacation. Sadie has kept an enormous secret from Colette for years...forever. It’s a summer full of surprises, but that might be what Colette needs.

My Best Friend, Maybe was released just yesterday and I'm excited to be taking part in this book blitz for it! (My first book blitz ever, incidentally.) This book has LGBTQ content, which is why I'm so excited about it, and it seems like it features a really great female friendship. I hope you guys will think about buying it! (And of course you should enter the giveaway if you live in the US!)

Read on for an excerpt from the book!

Review: These Gentle Wounds by Helene Dunbar

These Gentle Wounds by Helene Dunbar
Format: Paperback
Published by Flux on 8th May 2014
Pages: 307
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Rating: 
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Sometimes I wish I’d lost a leg or something. Everyone can understand that. They never get it when what’s been broken is inside your head.

Five years after an unspeakable tragedy that changed him forever, Gordie Allen has made a new home with his half-brother Kevin. Their arrangement works since Kevin is the only person who can protect Gordie at school and keep him focused on getting his life back on track.

But just when it seems like things are becoming normal, Gordie’s biological father comes back into the picture, demanding a place in his life. Now there’s nothing to stop Gordie from falling into a tailspin that could cost him everything—including his relationship with Sarah, the first girl he’s trusted with the truth. With his world spinning out of control, the only one who can help Gordie is himself... if he can find the strength to confront the past and take back his future.

Helene Dunbar's debut novel deals with a pretty important subject. Gordie has suffered from PTSD ever since the day when he was ten and his mum tried to kill her kids, including Gordie, by driving them in her car with her into the river. Gordie's father was abusive, and something had happened the night before that drove Gordie's mother to want to kill her children. Gordie survived, but the rest of them did not. Kevin, Gordie's half-brother, hadn't been in the car, because they don't share the same father. So after the 'incident', Gordie goes and lives with Kevin and Kevin's father, Jim.

I was really glad to see a novel about a teen who suffers from PTSD; it spreads awareness and shakes the misconception that PTSD is something only soldiers suffer from, and I hope that some teens who are suffering from PTSD can find this a helpful read. But unfortunately I didn't love this book as much as I hoped I would.

Review: Blue by Lisa Glass

Blue by Lisa Glass
Format: Paperback
To be published by Quercus on 5th June 2014
Pages: 375
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Rating: 
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Surfing is sixteen-year-old Iris's world, and when the ultra-talented Zeke walks into her life, it soon becomes her passion.

Over one amazing summer, as she is drawn into his sphere, she experiences love, new friendships, but also loss, with an intensity she never dreamed of.

But is Zeke all he seems? What hides beneath his glamorous and mysterious past? When Iris decides to try for her own surfing success, just as her ex-boyfriend comes back into her life, she will test her talent, and her feelings for Zeke, to the limit...

**I won this book through Goodreads First Reads.**

I'm sad to say that this book and I just lacked book chemistry.

I'm sad because as I was reading, I kept thinking, "I should be really enjoying this! Why do I just feel kind of meh about it?" I still can't really understand why, but I think sometimes it's really just down to the simple thing of book chemistry.