Review: Easy

Easy

Author: Tammara Webber
Pages: 310
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Source: Gifted

Description from Goodreads:
Rescued by a stranger.
Haunted by a secret
Sometimes, love isn’t easy…

He watched her, but never knew her. Until thanks to a chance encounter, he became her savior…

The attraction between them was undeniable. Yet the past he’d worked so hard to overcome, and the future she’d put so much faith in, threatened to tear them apart.

Only together could they fight the pain and guilt, face the truth—and find the unexpected power of love.

First Sentence: "I had never noticed Lucas before that night."

Review:

Because of my immense hatred for the term "new adult," I really did not have any plans to read this, though I did put on my GR to-read shelf for what that's worth. However, Jenni of Alluring Reads read this very recently and praised it to the skies, which prompted a Twitter discussion. Both Jenni and Steph of Cuddlebuggery insisted that I should read this book, but, because of a recently instated book-buying ban, I doubted that would happen anytime soon. At the book club's white elephant party, I "stole" a gift that included the paperback of Easy. Let's just say that I will definitely listen when Jenni and Steph tell me to read things.

First off, the writing in Easy was amazing across the board. I have no complaints about this book being so immensely popular. Webber knows what she's doing and I can only hope that having been picked up by Penguin will make all of her books easier to get a hold of for people like me who do not like to buy ebooks. In case the fact that this used to be self-published worries you, do not be worries, because this has been both well-written and well-edited. Oh, also, can I say how incredibly thrilled I am that the email and text conversations in this book did not involve any text speak?

Initially, Jacqueline frustrated me. Her newly ex-boyfriend, Kennedy, was so obviously an awful human being. Their relationship reminds me in every way of that of Elle Woods and her high school boyfriend in the movie Legally Blonde. A handsome, preppy guy heading for a sleazy career (lawyer/politician) dumps his beautiful, devoted girlfriend so that he can sleep around in college. On the plus side, that's better than cheating, but I had no patience for Kennedy whatsoever and could not fathom why Jacqueline stayed with him.

Thankfully, Jacqueline proves herself again and again. After the dumping, Jacqueline reverts to using her full name in place of the nickname "Jackie" that he gave her, a reference to the president he was named for and his wife (UGH, seriously, why did she not know he was awful before?). When he inevitably comes crawling back, Jacqueline's much more mature about it than I could ever be, remaining civil but consistent in her lack of interest. Heck yes, girl!

As is pretty well known by this point, Easy begins with an attempted rape, and that is a main theme throughout the book. Another reason I struggled with Jacqueline as a heroine at first was that she did not report the guy. However, I know that's completely realistic behavior. Thankfully, with the help of her completely supportive BFF, Erin (who I totally loved btw), Jacqueline manages to take charge of herself, finding new mental and physical strength. I loved that. Also, though there's a depiction of the dark side of the Greek system on college campuses, Webber does not malign it entirely. She kept everything fair, and I appreciate that, even though I'm one heck of a GDI and want nothing to do with frat guys myself.

Please, please, please do not judge the romance in this book off of the blurb. The whole bit about how "He watched her, but never knew her" sounds creepy as hell, and, seriously, Lucas is not like that. He was in her class, so he would watch her there, the way people do when they're bored during a lecture. Since she was cute and smart, he would take note if he saw her on campus. This is completely normal and non-stalkerish behavior, okay? Lucas is not that guy; he does nothing a normal college student wouldn't do in the course of an attraction.

Obviously, I love Lucas or I would not feel the need to defend his honor thus. He's just a great guy. He does do a couple of questionable things, but, honestly, I'm glad about those because they made him real. Otherwise, he would have been in manicpixiedreamboy territory. He's got some darkness and makes stupid decisions sometimes, which is much better than if he were purely perfect. As with all the best heroes, he empowers Jacqueline, and helps her to be better in every way. Plus, he does not pressure for sex at all. Speaking of sex, wow. Webber can write a sizzling scene. Much as I love YA, I do get to missing a well done sex scene, and Easy definitely scratched that itch.

In case you didn't figure this out by now, I ended up loving this book, so much so that I devoured it in a matter of hours. I only hope I can figure out how to get my hands on her Between the Lines series soon.

Rating: 4.5/5

Favorite Quote: This is a text conversation between Jacqueline and Erin:

"Erin: Talking to Chaz. May be late. You ok?
 Me: I'm good. YOU ok?
 Erin: Confused. Maybe I'd feel better if I just kicked him.
 Me: NUTSACK!!!!!!!!!
 Erin: Exactly."

Art in Me - Jars of Clay

Dying to Know You

Author: Aidan Chambers
Pages: 275
ARC Acquired from: ABRAMS via NetGalley

Description from Goodreads:
In Dying to Know You, award-winning author Aidan Chambers has created an indelible portrait of a young man discovering his own voice in the world, and has constructed a love story that is as much about the mind as it is the heart.

In this contemporary love story, a teenage boy named Karl enlists a famous writer to help him impress his girlfriend, Fiorella. She has asked him to write her a letter in which he reveals his true self. But Karl isn’t convinced he’s good enough with words, so he tracks down Fiorella’s favorite author and begs him to take up the task. The writer reluctantly assents, on the condition that Karl agree to a series of interviews, so that the letter will be based on an authentic portrait of Karl. The letter, though effective, has unexpected consequences for Karl, Fiorella, and the writer.

First Sentence: "'Could I talk to you?'"

Review:
Dying to Know You is driven by the conversations between the characters, so it is a very brief read. From the beginning, though, it definitely captured my attention. Chambers does a lot of interesting things here, and, while very odd, I definitely wanted to see just where the story was going and how Chambers would get it there.

The only comparison I can come up with off the top of my head for a similar book is Adios, Nirvana. The style and mood of the two novels is quite disparate, but they both center around a young man learning from an old man. Through a series of interviews, the young men grow as individuals, overcome something with which they have been struggling.

I really respect Chambers for trying something different narratively from the usual YA fare. That said, Dying to Know You could be a tough sell, because it is just very much not like what I would have expected. For example, the book, though marketed to young adult readers, is told from the perspective of an old man, and not one looking back on his own life. There are several occasions where he describes his old man problems, rather than focusing on Karl. I think I would have preferred to see this done from multiple points of view, rather than just the writer's.

Additionally, I wasn't a huge fan of Chambers' writing. The story is interesting and unique, but his simple prose did not appeal to me, nor did his characters. No one in this book seemed to brim with life particularly, which is really a shame. There were some nice quotes and I enjoyed the coverage of the book's themes, but I just never felt invested. Also, I've never really been a huge fan of the novels that purport to be about real events; they generally turn out rather awkward.

You might like this book if you like sparse prose, a lot of dialogue and YA books with a unique perspective.

Rating: 2.5/5

Favorite Quote: "'Sometimes the course of our lives depends on what we do or don't do in a few seconds, a heartbeat, when we either seize the opportunity, or just miss it. Miss the moment and you never get a chance again.'"

"Sculpting every move you compose a symphony
You plead to everyone, 'see the art in me'"

Where Did Our Love Go - The Supremes

Where She Went
If I Stay, Book 2

Author: Gayle Forman
Pages: 264
ARC Acquired From: Penguin via NetGalley

Brief Summary:
Picking up three years after where If I Stay left off, Where She Went chronicles events, both past and present, from Adam's point of view. Now a rock star, with all of the trappings, Adam is barely holding it together. He has never recovered from Mia's desertion, which happened quickly once she left for Juilliard. She just stopped calling, offering no closure for anyone. On the night before the start of the tour for Shooting Star's newest album, he goes to see her show, after seeing an advertisement for it on a billboard by happenstance. This begins their last night in New York City before they both have to leave on tours, one last night to get all their demons out and find closure.

Review:
After having really enjoyed If I Stay, I was pretty stoked to read the sequel. Even before starting out, I definitely thought it was rather odd to write a sequel for a book like If I Stay. The whole question of book one is whether Mia will choose to live or not. And while, I suppose she could have chosen to leave and the sequel could be about the afterlife or everyone reacting to her death, that's really not likely, and it's definitely not the case. So, bold move.

Another bold writing move was the change of the narrator from Mia to Adam. Even though Adam was a big part of If I Stay, I never got a real read on what he was like as a person; I could tell that Mia loved him and that he was a pretty good guy and that was enough. Then, I started reading Where She Went and I found myself hating him and the book in general, largely as a result. Adam's just a stereotype at the outset: a super successful rock star, who, whether intentionally or not, is hogging the spotlight, thus causing a rift with the band. He also pops pills, chain smokes and has trashed at least one hotel room. Plus, he has a hot actress girlfriend, which is an improvement on the one night stands he had before her. I could not stand all of this, even though I understood that it was him falling apart after Mia. At least fall apart in an original manner.

The book definitely picked up when he and Mia began interacting. After having read the flashbacks from If I Stay of their relationship, the reader has an idea of what they were like together, and now it's amazing to see them so stilted and awkward. They have grown and changed and are weighed down by all of the words unsaid.

My favorite aspect of the novel is definitely the one last night before they were both to depart on their tours. It has a Before Sunrise feel to it. I love that movie, so it's not surprising that I would dig that element here. While such a brief time period could be limiting, it has an interesting way of being very freeing, since it's your last chance and you just need to get things out. I thought that was very well done.

All and all, having finished the book, I'm not sure how I feel about the ending. It might be too optimistic, but, then again, maybe it works just right considering all the crap the characters had to go through to get there. Perhaps time will tell as I think back on the book. Either way, this is not a book you will want to miss reading if you enjoyed the first, even though it is quite different. I can offer a couple of readalikes too, both selected for characters overcoming grief (and the stupid things they have done in their grief): Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly and Adios, Nirvana by Conrad Wesselhoeft.

"Ooh, baby, baby
Where did our love go?
Ooh, don't you want me
Don't you want me no more"