NORMALISH by MARGARET LESH - A Review of an AMAZING YA Novel!

TITLE: Normalish

AUTHOR: Margaret Lesh

RELEASE DATE: March 6, 2015

FORMAT/PAGE COUNT: Kindle/175 pages

PUBLISHER: Story Rhyme Publishing

PURCHASED: Amazon

SYNOPSIS:

Fifteen-year-old Stacy questions the strange world of high school, love, her role in a harsh universe, and life, in Normalish.

People tell you high school's so great and wonderful, but they're lying. It's mostly horrible and full of disappointment. It sucks. Your best friend abandons you. The jerk you're in love with pretends to be into you, and then the big dump. The boy you've really clicked with as a friend decides to go all crushy over you, so you break his heart just like yours was -- smashed into little pieces. Your sister goes mental, and you get involved with a guy who’s even crazier than she is (who you know is a very bad idea, but you do it anyway). Math only adds another stink of failure to the whole thing.

High school blows. Just ask freshman Stacy. She’d want you to know. (From GOODREADS)


EXPECTATIONS: I know the author through Absolute Write. I expected a great read! I've been intrigued by Normalish ever since I first read the synopsis.

MARKET/GENRE: Young Adult/Contemporary. This also had romantic elements and skated occasionally on the fence of MG...but thematic elements prevent it from landing comfortably there. 

REVIEW:

"When I was twelve years old, I learned not to talk about death." ~ Stacy, Normalish

So begins a story of a young girl who eventually talks about everything. Stacy is a character I immediately liked. She's vulnerable and on the page, just like every great young adult character should be. She isn't afraid of telling the reader how she feels...it's her vulnerability that drags the reader in. We immediately trust her. This trust allows us to settle into the story and discover where it leads us.

Where the story leads us is onto a roller coaster of events that any young girl of fourteen/fifteen would be lucky to make it out of in one piece. As Stacy is so raw and forthcoming with her emotions, so straightforward with where she stands on everything, we the reader are confident she'll make it through to the other end. But it's still a roller coaster, there's still edge of the seat moments where you hold your breath and hope for the best.

When Normalish opens, the reader is given a few quick insights. Stacy does not have a best friend, she does not have a boyfriend and her father has passed away. These are big obstacles for a fourteen-year-old. She's dealing with the loss of her father, while attempting to ride the wave of no-best-friend-ness, while pining for the day she can say she has a boyfriend. Put into this complicated mess the fact that her sister--the one she shares her bedroom with--is going insane, and you have quite a life to navigate through.

Stacy takes us with her through every step of the story. We are there when the boy she has been losing sleep over finally makes his move and we are there when the wrong boy makes his move. When her sister is temporarily institutionalized, we are there to see Stacy discover yet another boy. As she falls head over heels, we are happy for her. But, of course, we are also reticent. She does, after all, meet this third boy in the institution where her sister is recovering.

I mentioned that Normalish skates on the fence of MG. I say this because Lesh does such a fantastic job of keeping Stacy's voice at her age level. I can't imagine how difficult that would have been. Stacy is fourteen when the story begins and fifteen when it ends. She goes through some pretty tumultuous circumstances in the story, yet she keeps the voice of a young girl at her age level. If not for the serious elements involved, I would suggest this would fit into middle grade as comfortably as it fits into young adult. It's only the issues that Stacy deals with that bumps it into YA only. And Lesh does an amazing job dealing with these issues. Stacy said at the stories onset that she learned not to talk about death, but then she walks us through her story. It is such a poignant look into the harsh reality that some young teens live.

I would happily recommend this book to anyone. I can't really go too far into the story without giving away certain elements. Just know that if you choose to read it, you can trust that Stacy will do a magnificent job telling you what happens to her. She will share the intimate details of her life and her pain...and eventually, her joy. Trust me, you'll want to be there when Stacy tries to discover what it is to be normal...or normalish. Lesh is a fine storyteller...one I will be looking for more from in the future!

Expectation: Met and exceeded. Stacy's story will stay with me for a long time. Her vulnerability makes her a powerful young adult character...a great female lead who is not afraid of being an honest and strong individual. She shows the reader that no matter your circumstances, it does get better. I loved this story.

This title is also available at:

Barnes & Noble

AND

Kobo

SIZE: 5. A Solid 5!

WHEN EVERYTHING FEELS LIKE THE MOVIES by Raziel Reid Spectacular Spectacular!

 
TITLE: WHEN EVERYTHING FEELS LIKE THE MOVIES

AUTHOR: RAZIEL REID

RELEASE DATE: October 21st, 2014

FORMAT/PAGE COUNT: ebook/176 pages

PUBLISHER: Arsenal Pulp Press

PURCHASED: AMAZON KINDLE

SYNOPSIS: 


School is just like a film set: there's The Crew, who make things happen, The Extras who fill the empty desks, and The Movie Stars, whom everyone wants tagged in their Facebook photos. But Jude doesn't fit in. He's not part of The Crew because he isn't about to do anything unless it's court-appointed; he's not an Extra because nothing about him is anonymous; and he's not a Movie Star because even though everyone know his name like an A-lister, he isn't invited to the cool parties. As the director calls action, Jude is the flamer that lights the set on fire.

Before everything turns to ashes from the resulting inferno, Jude drags his best friend Angela off the casting couch and into enough melodrama to incite the paparazzi, all while trying to fend off the haters and win the heart of his favourite co-star Luke Morris. It's a total train wreck!

But train wrecks always make the front page.(FROM GOODREADS)
 

EXPECTATION: I had high hopes for this book as soon as I heard about it. I kept hearing about the GG and the Canada Reads selection...and it became even more intriguing to me. Then, when I heard about petitions to have the GG revoked and the CR selection rescinded, I knew I had to read it. I knew it would be good.


REVIEW: 

This is an extraordinary book. I loved the YA voice of the narrator. Remarkable. So authentic, perhaps the most authentic YA voice I have ever read. When Everything Feels Like the Movies is a beautiful tragedy filled with hope and longing. I loved this book. I know it's going to stay with me for a very long time. There were so many things I loved about this book, it's impossible to parse into a review. Jude/Judy is a tour-de-force of a character. From page one I wanted her to succeed in the movie of her life. Filled with unrivaled sarcastic wit, the whole thing was just a sheer delight to read. The grit and reality of the narrator's voice was flawless and fearless. A beautiful novel.

"Our principal, Mr. Callagher, was saying through the speaker that the school was throwing a Valentine's dance, and if anyone wanted to help organize it, they should come to the office and lunch and shove their finger up his ass."

"We'd made the back table ours ever since Angela slept with her second cousin and started keeping a list under the table. We always sat there because she always had a new name to add."

I read almost exclusively on my Kindle app on my smartphone now. I love how you can highlight passages and make notes. With this book, however, I stopped highlighting after about 1/4 of the book. Because I was highlighting everything. The two passages above, I believe, are greatly representative of the impeccable voice of the narrator. I try to read every book as a reader, but I have to admit I read this one almost exclusively as a writer. I was blown away by voice. Yes, it had a story too...a fantastic one...and I realize I haven't really touched on that yet. It's just that it's one of those books that makes me want to try harder as a writer, to cross the lines I shy away from.

When Everything Feels Like the Movies is essentially the story of a teen who is larger than the small town that could never truly contain them. What sets it aside from other stories about breaking out of the small and into the limelight is that the character who is struggling to be contained is trans. Jude (Judy) deals with bigotry at every turn...including at home. But she is still able to dream big and have such lofty glamorous goals for herself. Her almost vulgar egoism and arrogance is a delight. Where it should turn a reader off, it endears her to them. We see the raw vulnerability in her swaggering confidence and self-love. True sarcasm comes not from pride, but from the shaky ego that wants to emulate pride. Jude is such a flawlessly written flawed character. He will remain one of my favourite characters for a long time to come.

Highlights for me? The secretive relationship between Jude and his best friend's brother. And the way the reader can feel the scream of love caught in Jude's throat where his little brother is concerned. The author writes with such a subtle pen...never more so than when he paints the picture of Jude's feelings for his half-brother Keefer. Also, Jude's complicated relationship with his father. The longing in that relationship is so painful. With just a few strokes of his pen, Reid impeccably captured a struggling father/son relationship...with the perfect balance of want and need and outrage. I'm beginning to think the whole book was a highlight for me. Reid drew an amazingly accurate villain in Ray, Jude's stepfather, too. Here was a man who seemed afraid Jude's gayness might transfer to his own son simply through touch or proximity. Again, a flawless rendition of a character...and how Jude's mother repeatedly chose Ray over her own son was also amazingly captured.Yep...too many highlights to speak of.

Be careful what you read about this book. I've seen spoilers after having read it that would have ruined the ending for me. If you want to go into it blindly, try not to read up on it prior to cracking the spine. Even the author himself drops plot spoilers in interviews surrounding the origins of the story. Beware!



EXPECTATION:To be honest, the controversy surrounding this book was a big motivating factor in me deciding to read it. Firstly, it sounded like a wonderful story. Secondly, I have no time for writers who think it's their place to petition to have books stripped of awards they absolutely and definitively deserve. In fact, I was quite disgusted that anyone would try to rally and petition against this book. It met and exceeded my expectations. It has made me want to be a better writer. Naysayers should be ashamed of themselves. The green-eyed monster may have much to do with the bitter pills these petitioners are unable to swallow. I hope with everything I have that this book wins CANADA READS!

SIZE:5.5 It's just too big to fit into 5. Je Suis Jude!

SOULSPARK Cover Reveal! Eliza Tilton's Newest Novel - Young Adult Contemporary Romance With a Promise to Rip Open Your Heart!

Today, I get to share another gorgeous cover with you! ELIZA TILTON is the author of the YA Fantasy series The Daath Chronicles, published by Curiosity Quills Press.

SOULSPARK is a young adult Contemporary Romance sure to rip open your heart and stitch it back together.

Here's the blurb:

Dealing with the loss of her mother, seventeen-year-old Jessica Stone tries to find an escape from the pain by secretly medicating herself with Xanax, but the anxiety increases, crushing her and her grades.

Then she meets Caleb Jonas, the pastor’s son at her mother’s church. Between his cute dimples and love of fast cars, Jessica is completely smitten, and the feeling is mutual. But dating a Christian boy isn’t easy. He doesn’t party, and he never goes past first base. Jessica struggles with his faith, since it makes her question her own, but for the first time since her mother’s death, she can breathe. Life is finally shifting into a state of happiness.

But that happiness shatters when Jessica catches Caleb kissing her ex-best friend—and step-brother’s girlfriend—Rachel, the girl who used to be like her sister, and the same girl who betrayed her once before.

While her stepbrother hints at a deeper connection between the two, Caleb insists it was a one-time mistake and begs forgiveness. With contradicting stories coming at her, Jessica isn’t sure who to believe, but sometimes the truth is better left undiscovered and she’s about to find out why.

Without further ado, the beautiful cover for SOULSPARK!

ADD SOULSPARK TO YOUR GOODREADS SHELF!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Eliza Tilton graduated from Dowling College with a BS in Visual Communications. When she’s not arguing with excel at her day job, or playing Dragon Age 2, again, she’s writing. Her stories hold a bit of the fantastical and there’s always a romance. She resides on Long Island with her husband, two kids and one very snuggly pit bull. Her YA Fantasy series, The Daath Chronicles, is published by Curiosity Quills Press.

Connect with the Author Across Social Media:

Twitter / Tumblr / Website / Pinterest / Facebook / Goodreads / Instagram

SOULSPARK! LOOK FOR IT SPRING 2015!

ALL THE BRIGHT PLACES - By JENNIFER NIVEN - Best Book of 2015? Already? Maybe!

TITLE: ALL THE BRIGHT PLACES

AUTHOR: JENNIFER NIVEN

RELEASE DATE: January 6th, 2015

FORMAT/PAGE COUNT: ebook/400 pages

PUBLISHER: Knopf Books for Young Readers

PURCHASED: AMAZON KINDLE

SYNOPSIS: 

 
Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.

Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death.

When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink. (From GOODREADS)





EXPECTATION: The moment this book entered into my awareness, I knew I HAD to read it. I expected great and amazing things from it. I don't even know why I had that immediate reaction, I just did. I had not yet heard of Jennifer Niven. The book just entered my radar on Instagram and I pre-ordered it the moment I saw it.


REVIEW: 

"The great thing about this life of ours is that you can be someone different to everybody." ~ Theodore Finch

"Worthless. Stupid. These are words I grew up hearing. They're the words I try to outrun, because if I let them in, they might stay there and grow and fill me up and in, until the only thing left of me is worthless stupid worthless stupid worthless stupid freak. And then there's nothing to do but run harder and fill myself with other words: This time will be different. This time I will stay awake." ~ Theodore Finch

It is no mistake I waited a couple weeks to write this review. This was one of those books I had to continue to digest long after reading the last word. It was for me. Mine. I couldn't formulate the feelings I had for it while I was still having them.

It's also no mistake that TODAY is the day I'm posting this review. Today is BELL LET'S TALK DAY 2015. It's marketed as a day of NATIONAL CONVERSATION ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH. To be honest, when this day first appeared it made me angry. I thought, 'why can't we talk about mental illness ALL 365 DAYS!?' For those dealing with mental health issues, they don't get to put those issues in their pocket for all the other days of the year. Their marginalization happens every day. But I think I get it now. Raising awareness on this day is a way to begin the conversation that will, hopefully, last all the days of the year.

Why do I bring this PSA up in the middle of a review for my favourite book of the year? Because Theodore Finch.

Jennifer Niven has written one of the most beautiful books I have ever read. I put this on my top books list alongside Franny & Zooey, Wonder Boys, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Great Gatsby, The Fault in Our Stars, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and the rest of my faves. It's simply brilliant. It's one of those books that took my breath away, and prevented me from catching it again until long after I finished the last page.

One of the reasons I can't really say much about the book is that I feel to talk about it would be to give away some of its secrets. I hate spoilers. If you're going to read this book, you should go into it blindly and allow yourself to excavate its gifts all on your own. What I can talk about is the way it made me feel, the beautiful prose, the expertly executed duo points of view. It was so pleasurable to read this story from both Theodore Finch's and Violet Markey's POV. Two wonderful characters fully realized on the page.

Their story? It opens with both of them standing on a sixth-story ledge. The circumstances that brought both characters together on that ledge could not be more opposing. Violet is a guilt-wracked survivor of a car accident that took the life of her older sister. Theodore? His story is slowly revealed throughout ALL THE BRIGHT PLACES. But while the reader is up on the ledge of the bell tower in the courtyard of the high school the two attend, we get it. We fully get why Theodore is there. He's the tragedian of this masterpiece. He's the always-been-broken-can't-quite-figure-out-why fall guy that every single high school in North America (if not the world) has. Theodore Finch is suicidal because he's Theodore Finch.

The story begins not because Theodore is going to succeed in ending his life THIS TIME. It begins because he suddenly sees a reason not to end it. The popular Violet Markey is standing there, ready to jump to her death. Saving her, he doesn't even consider that it might somehow save himself. He is just capable of seeing the value of a life...when it is not his life he's seeing.

This is a tragedy. In YA, tragedies are extremely hard to pull off. But Niven does it. My god, does Niven do it. I'm still raw from reading this book, weeks after doing so. I want to tell all my friends and enemies about it. I want to buy them all copies, in case they don't take me serious when I tell them they need to read it. I want to sit them down and make them read it.

I won't say more about the story itself. I'll just say that it is beautiful. And I will say that THIS is a perfect book to begin dialogue on MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES. Especially in the world of the young adult...where the scope of experience is too narrow for teenagers to realize the one most important possibility when dealing with the demons of mental health issues--- IT GETS BETTER.

I leave you with a couple more lines from the book which I highlighted because they felt like words that were ripped directly from my own teen soul. In other words, I related 100% to the character THEODORE FINCH, and the emotional tidal wave of conflict he experienced in his life.

"I can't love anyone because it's not fair to anyone who loves me." ~ Theodore Finch

"If I breathe too loudly, there's no telling what the darkness will do to me or to Violet or to anyone I love." ~ Theodore Finch

EXPECTATION: I intuited that this book would leave a lasting emotional impact on me. I just didn't know how profound it would be. It met my expectations in the first chapter. It exceeded them in the second. By the third, I was no longer reading...I was there.  I am Theodore Finch. Just as much as I'm not.

SIZE: I never gave a book a size 6 before. It seems silly, when the sizes are meant to represent stars and the highest is 5. I just can't be satisfied giving ALL THE BRIGHT PLACES a 5. And it's worthy of more than a 51/2. In This is Spinal Tap, they turn the amplifier up to 11. On this humble book review blog, for today anyway, I'm following their lead. I'm turning this one up to 6. Deal with it!



Afterword: Please discuss mental health issues and bring them into the light of all the bright places you see. Bring those suffering into the light with you. We need to embrace them, tell them they will be okay, tell them they are not alone. Mental illness is a real illness, like cancer and multiple sclerosis and diabetes. There is no shame in having a mental illness. It's time to stop marginalizing and segregating those who suffer. Join the conversation. TODAY---Wednesday, January 28th, 2015---the conversation is ongoing across all social media platforms. Find it at #BELLLETSTALK