Review: Love Letters to the Dead

Love Letters to the Dead
Author: Ava Dellaira
Published: April 1, 2014
Hardcover, 327 pages
4 Gold Stars

(summary from Goodreads)

It begins as an assignment for English class: Write a letter to a dead person. Laurel chooses Kurt Cobain because her sister, May, loved him. And he died young, just like May did. Soon, Laurel has a notebook full of letters to people like Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse, Amelia Earhart, Heath Ledger, and more; though she never gives a single one of them to her teacher. She writes about starting high school, navigating new friendships, falling in love for the first time, learning to live with her splintering family. And, finally, about the abuse she suffered while May was supposed to be looking out for her. Only then, once Laurel has written down the truth about what happened to herself, can she truly begin to accept what happened to May. And only when Laurel has begun to see her sister as the person she was; lovely and amazing and deeply flawed; can she begin to discover her own path.

Laurel is quiet, a freshman in high school and still trying to get over her sister's suicide. So when the teacher tells them to write a letter to a dead person, she decides to write to a lot of them, each one with a mysterious death or suicide and each one important to her life or her sister in some way or another. By writing these letters, she can finally let herself reveal the truth of what happened that faithful night, while also opening herself up to new friends, love, and acceptance.

The writing in the novel is authentically young. Laurel writes normally, using no big words and simple thoughts that flow over the pages beautifully. She connects to each dead celebrity in their own way and the way she writes to each of them reveals how she feels about them as a whole,. When she is writing to Kurt Cobain, the letters are mostly about her sisters death, but when she writes to Amelia Earhart, she writes more about school and her future. It's heartbreaking to read and remember these celebrities and their lives that they left behind. Dellaira weaves together a story through these letters that reveals so much and so little. The further Laurel gets into the school year, the more she opens up as she has made new friends and is going out with Sky. Laurel is experiencing everything for the first time even though she has experienced more than any regular 15 year old has. This book deals with some serious issues while a girl tries to over come some things that happened in her past. It reminded me a lot of The Perks of Being a Wallflower in the way it was written and the voice of the main character. The simple writing that sometimes sounds too young for a 15 year old that leads up to some major events that happened in her past to make her write this way. It's what bothered me about Perks and it bothered me in this book as well.

The letter aspect was great. I love the idea of writing to dead famous people, especially since I know about all of them and how they died. Dellaira incorporated many famous deaths and in that revealed how Laurel feels about May's death and everything that led up to it. Part of me loved this book, but part of me is still wondering if 4 stars is too much. It will stay on my bookshelf, unlike more 3 star rated books, but I'm not sure I'll be reading it again. Maybe if I was a bigger Nirvana fan, but I kind of hate that band and wish there were more letters to Heath Ledger instead.

“I know I wrote letters to people with no address on this earth, I know that you are dead. But I hear you. I hear all of you. We were here. Our lives matter.” 

Waiting on Wednesday: I'll Give You The Sun

Waiting on Wednesday is weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine, where we spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating.

My WoW this week is:

I'll Give You The Sun
By Jandy Nelson
Hardcover
Expected Publication: September 16, 2014

From Goodreads:

Jude and her brother, Noah, are incredibly close twins. At thirteen, isolated Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude surfs and cliff-dives and wears red-red lipstick and does the talking for both of them. But three years later, Jude and Noah are barely speaking. Something has happened to wreck the twins in different and divisive ways . . . until Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy, as well as an unpredictable new mentor. The early years are Noah's story to tell. The later years are Jude's. What the twins don't realize is that they each have only half the story, and if they could just find their way back to one another, they’d have a chance to remake their world.
 
This radiant, fully alive, sometimes very funny novel from the critically acclaimed author of The Sky Is Everywhere will leave you breathless and teary and laughing—often all at once. 

I loved The Sky is Everywhere, so if this one is anything like that, I'll love it as well. Nelson's writing is beautiful and her characters leap off the pages. I'm excited for another book from her!

What's your Waiting on Wednesday? Let me know!

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Books I've Read So Far This Year

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly event hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, where we discuss bookish topics in the form of lists.

This week's topic is: Top Ten Books You've Read So Far This Year

1. Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson: A fun, cute, mystery about two friends.
2. Don't Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout: This won't be my last book by this author!
3. Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover: Amazing, go read this now!

4. Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor: A great ending to a fantastic series.
5. Bright Before Sunrise by Tiffany Schmidt: The perfect little read.
6. Uninvited by Sophie Jordan: Such a cool concept and I love everything Jordan writes!

7. Cress by Marissa Meyer: This whole series is amazing!
8. My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick: This book blew me away and redefined YA Contemporary for me.

9. The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson: Heartbreaking and beautiful.
10. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith: The cutest thing I've read in a long time.


So what books have you loved so far this year?

Review: Don't Look Back

Don't Look Back
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Published: April 15, 2014
Hardcover, 369 pages
5 Gold Stars

(summary from Goodreads)

Samantha is a stranger in her own life. Until the night she disappeared with her best friend, Cassie, everyone said Sam had it all-popularity, wealth, and a dream boyfriend. 

Sam has resurfaced, but she has no recollection of who she was or what happened to her that night. As she tries to piece together her life from before, she realizes it's one she no longer wants any part of. The old Sam took "mean girl" to a whole new level, and it's clear she and Cassie were more like best enemies. Sam is pretty sure that losing her memories is like winning the lottery. She's getting a second chance at being a better daughter, sister, and friend, and she's falling hard for Carson Ortiz, a boy who has always looked out for her-even if the old Sam treated him like trash. 

But Cassie is still missing, and the facts about what happened to her that night isn't just buried deep inside of Sam's memory-someone else knows, someone who wants to make sure Sam stays quiet. All Sam wants is the truth, and if she can unlock her clouded memories of that fateful night, she can finally move on. But what if not remembering is the only thing keeping Sam alive?

 This is my first Armentrout book and it blew me away! I was hooked from the first page, the mystery of what happened to Sam suddenly clouding my mind and I couldn't think about anything but this book until I found out what happened to her. Samantha wakes up on the side of road, bloodied and not remembering a thing. She soon realizes she doesn't remember anything any about her life, not even her name. As her family returns her home, she starts to learn things about herself that she's not happy with. She was little miss popular and treated a lot of people badly, one of those guys being Carson, her parents's yard guy's son. Coming back home also means facing the fact that her best friend Cassie, who disappeared the same night as Sam, is still missing and it looks like Sam is the only one who knows what happened, except she can't remember.

I'm a sucker for amnesia books. I know a lot of people are tired of reading them, but I love the mystery and the steps that the narrator has to take to get back to their old life. Along the way, they tend to realize that they didn't like who they used to be and are glad for the second chance. Redemption stories are my favourite, and this one tops them all. Samantha was a great character, a girl who fell for the thrill of popularity and didn't care who she took down along the way. Her friendship with Cassie wasn't healthy at all and I'm glad Sam realizes this throughout the novel. Her so called boyfriend isn't the  best guy either and I love that Sam had more feelings for Carson, someone she couldn't stand before, than her boyfriend (who was a major jerk!) Sam's post traumatic stress is written beautifully and so believable. When she starts to see Cassie in places it scared the crap out of me. And the closer we got to finding out what really happened, the scarier it got. And the ending was so unexpected I almost threw my book. I couldn't believe how it all played out and there's no way I could have called that. The best part of a mystery is not being able to guess the outcome, and this book left me guessing until the end. 

Armentrout is known for writing swoon worthy guys and this book is no different. Carson is a sweet guy who is giving Sam a second chance after she treated him badly throughout the years. Sam is immediately attracted to him and I love how their friendship turns into something else so easily, since they've known each other all their lives. Sam has reverted back to how she used to be before Cassie came along and Carson sees this. It's sweet and romantic and he's the kind of guy any girl could ask for. Every  character is unique and plays an important part in the story. Everything fit together so perfectly and there were scenes that came into play later as the mystery unravelled. Also, can we just talk about this cover? It's so beautiful and it plays into the story so perfectly. I love the sweet ballerina with the cracked glass. Everything about this book is perfection and I think everyone should read it, even if you're done with these kinds of books. This one stands out among the rest.

“Money doesn't buy taste, personality, or common decency.” 

“I’m not sure I want to go to prom. I’m not sure I want to share you with anyone.”

Waiting on Wednesday: Even in Paradise

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine, where we showcase an upcoming release we're eagerly anticipating.

My WoW this week is:

Even in Paradise
By Chelsey Philpot
Hardcover, 368 pages
Expected publication: October 14, 2014

From Goodreads:

When Julia Buchanan enrolls at St. Anne’s at the beginning of junior year, Charlotte Ryder already knows all about the former senator’s daughter. Most people do... or think they do.

Charlotte certainly never expects she’ll be Julia’s friend. But almost immediately, she is drawn into the larger than-life-new girl’s world—a world of midnight rendezvous, dazzling parties, palatial vacation homes, and fizzy champagne cocktails. And then Charlotte meets, and begins falling for, Julia’s handsome older brother, Sebastian.

But behind her self-assured smiles and toasts to the future, Charlotte soon realizes that Julia is still suffering from a tragedy. A tragedy that the Buchanan family has kept hidden … until now.

I've read that this is reminiscent of The Great Gatsby, and that caught my attention. Sounds like a thrilling, cautionary tale.

What do you think, sound good? What's your Waiting on Wednesday?

Waiting on Wednesday: My Last Kiss

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Breaking the Spine, where we spotlight a book we're eagerly anticipating.

My Waiting on Wednesday this week is:

My Last Kiss
By Bethany Neal
Hardcover, 368 pages
Expected release date: June 10, 2014

From Goodreads:

What if your last kiss was with the wrong boy? 

Cassidy Haines remembers her first kiss vividly. It was on the old covered bridge the summer before her freshman year with her boyfriend of three years, Ethan Keys. But her last kiss—the one she shared with someone at her seventeenth birthday party the night she died—is a blur. Cassidy is trapped in the living world, not only mourning the loss of her human body, but left with the grim suspicion that her untimely death wasn’t a suicide as everyone assumes. She can’t remember anything from the weeks leading up to her birthday and she’s worried that she may have betrayed her boyfriend. 

If Cassidy is to uncover the truth about that fateful night and make amends with the only boy she’ll ever love, she must face her past and all the decisions she made—good and bad—that led to her last kiss.

Bethany Neal’s suspenseful debut novel is about the power of first love and the haunting lies that threaten to tear it apart.

Sounds like a good mystery to me. Excited to see how the author will write this one. I haven't read too many books narrated by someone who has already died. This is the author's first novel.

Review: This Side of Salvation

This Side of Salvation
Author: Jeri Smith-Ready
Published: April 1, 2014
Hardcover, 384 pages
5 Gold Stars

(summary from Goodreads)

Everyone mourns differently. When his older brother was killed, David got angry. As in, fist-meets-someone-else’s-face furious. But his parents? They got religious. David’s still figuring out his relationship with a higher power, but there’s one thing he does know for sure: The closer he gets to new-girl Bailey, the better, brighter, happier, more he feels.

Then his parents start cutting all their worldly ties to prepare for the Rush, the divine moment when the faithful will be whisked off to Heaven…and they want David to do the same. David’s torn. There’s a big difference between living in the moment and giving up his best friend, varsity baseball, and Bailey—especially Bailey—in hope of salvation.

But when he comes home late from prom, and late for the Rush, to find that his parents have vanished, David is in more trouble than he ever could have imagined...

Smith-Ready blew me away with her Shade series. It was like nothing I've read before and even though the premise could be cliche, it wasn't. She has a way of writing characters and story lines that seem like they could actually happen even though they are very far fetched. This Side of Salvation may seem far fetched to some people, but it was the kind of plot that could actually happen to some families around the world. When David's brother dies in the army, his family takes it all very differently. David gets angry, but his parents find God and become very religious. David has gone to church most of his life, but when his parents start getting involved with a lady who tell them about the Rush, aka the Rapture, they begin severing their lives to prepare to go to Heaven. David questions all of this, still not sure what he believes in or whether the Rush is real, but when he comes home late from a party with his sister and finds his parents vanished, suddenly he doesn't know what to believe.

David is like most people in the world, he knows about this religion, goes to church, learns how to be a good Christian, but still isn't sure if he believes in the higher power. As David tries to figure out what happened to his parents, we flash back to other important parts of his life to help us understand where he's coming from. I loved this past and present tense. In the present, his parents are already gone and him and his sister Mara are on the hunt to find out what happened to their parents. In the past, we see David much happier. He is with his girlfriend Bailey, living the sort of life any teenager would love. We see how David views religion and we see how his parents are dealing with the death of their oldest son. David's father speaks only in scripture, which in on itself is crazy and illogical, but I can see someone doing this as a means of coping. 

The writing is beautiful. Smith-Ready knows exactly what words to use to convey each message and David's view of the world differed so much from his parents. The mystery behind the Rush got to me,  I can see how David could feel like it was impossible. Even though he's pretty sure he believes in God, he still questions everything after his parents disappear, wondering how they could leave him behind. This story made me cry, the grief is palpable and the love for family and friends is heartbreaking. It shows perfectly how a family copes with losing a member. It kept me guessing to the last few chapters, and even then I wasn't sure how it would all end. David's relationships are very realistic. Him and Mara get along, but still have a lot of differences. Him and Bailey are not perfect, and their relationship isn't glorified. They are real teenagers and David thinks about sex... a lot. It's always so different being inside a guy's head as opposed to a girl's. I loved the focus on baseball as well. David loved pitching as a kid, but it slowly disappeared the more religious his parents got. It was the prefect metaphor for his life, and I was very happy when he got back into it. Kane was the perfect side character. He loves David and will do anything to make sure his friend's life.

This book is great if you're not sure how you feel about God, or even if you do know. The mystery aspect was great and the characters were even better. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a different kind of contemporary about family and struggling with a major loss.  

“Oh yeah, pain. I think it's the same when we lose someone we love. It never stops hurting. But maybe it shouldn't. That pain, after all, is a souvenir of love.”