GEEKY CHIQUITAS: ya 2014

Book in Review: Better Off Friends by Elizabeth Eulberg

Title: Better Off Friends
Author: Elizabeth Eulberg
Publishing Date: February 25, 2014
Publisher: Point
Rating: 5/5 stars

I'm honestly still swooning and giddy all over. It's been 2 weeks since I've finished this awesomely cute and wonderful book, yet I can't get it out of my head at all. Everyone knows best friend romances is my favorite trope but I think Better Off Friends is the best one I've read out of everything.

I can't find any coherence in writing this review as all I am capable of doing is fangirling over how beautiful and amazing this book is to me. It made me feel so many things - genuine happiness, sadness, shock, yearning, distraught, giddiness and so much more. There are some books that resonate with you long after you finish it, and Better Off Friends is clearly an example of such. There is not a single day that I haven't thought of the wonderful friendship and love between McCallan and Levi and how these two characters made me feel so warm all over just by being themselves. There was just so much depth, character and honesty to this story, that I felt was fantastically woven together. This is the kind of book that made me want to scream and flail my arms around in joy. This is the kind of book that made me want to give everyone I see a bear hug just for the heck of it! This is the kind of book that made me want to sing at the top of my lungs and cry, and cry, and cry some more because of the overflowing joy it made me feel.

The moment McCallan and Levi meet each other in the 7th grade, you just know that these two are meant for each other. The story takes you to how their relationship develops and deepens from a bunch of 12 year old noobs simply bonding over a favorite Tv show to freshmen kids having tons of inside jokes, to growing up and drifting apart, and to finally realizing how much they mean to each other. To describe this book as a feel-good story is a HUGE understatement. I've never felt happier about a book in my entire life, and gah this book was just perfect!

Told in alternating POVs, we get a glimpse of both Levi and McCallan's thoughts. Though dual POV is one of my pet peeves, it wasn't a problem with this book as both characters have such distinct voices, that I never got confused with who was talking at the moment. The funny and very sweet commentary by an older Levi and McCallan in between the chapters is absolutely wonderful as well, and I swooned and laughed and cried because it was... Just. beautiful. I actually never wanted it to end, because I loved being in their thoughts so much and these two people were just so genuine and real and likeable that I really didn't want to say goodbye to both of them. Elizabeth did a great job at developing both the characters, starting with headstrong McCallan who never backs down without a fight, but deep inside just misses her mom so much, and sweet Levi who only wants to fit in his new school. They both progress and mature throughout the story, as they overcome their struggles in life; and in the end though they remain true to themselves, they turn out to become well rounded and mature individuals.

What was glorious as well were their families, who composed a huge chunk of the story: Levi's mom who is a great parent not just to Levi but also McCallan, who had to grow up without one; McCallan's dad who is an equally awesome parent what with planning surprise parties and all; and McCallan's uncle Adam who has a speech disability but has the biggest and kindest heart ever. It was such a good feeling meeting all these characters and I never wiped the smile off my face the whole time.

And now the last but not the least: Levi and McCallan's relationship.Their friendship is seriously the best thing ever. I never felt it was too slow or too fast. It was so well-paced that the timing just felt right at the end. We see first how they become best friends, how they start dating other people but still put the other first, how they drift apart, how they miss each other and up to that moment when Levi meets McCallan at the park by the swing and you just know - it's time.

Have you read Better Off Friends? What did you think? :)

10:36 PM
1 Comments

Book in Review: Strange Sweet Song by Adi Rule

2014 release

Title: Strange Sweet Song

Author: Adi Rule

Format: ARC

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Hardcover: 336 pages

Rating: 5 awestruck stars/ 5 also awestruck stars

NOOOOOO! I didn't want to give this book 5 stars. It wasn't because the book wasn't nice. It was because it felt like surrendering to this book's beauty, this book's charm. I saw all the 5-star and 4-star reviews of this book and thought to myself, I won't fall for it! I was so wrong. I'm here now writing a 5-star review of Strange Sweet Song.

I'll be starting with a synopsis of this book.

Sing da Navelli is the daughter of Barbara da Navelli, a famous opera singer. Since her mother died during her lead role as Angelique in Angelique, she has strived to be the next Barbara da Navelli. The only problem is that she isn't a diva like her mother. When she arrives at her new school, she finds out that her school will be having a play, Angelique.

Her father does not know that her school is putting on Angelique which is why Sing was free to audition. She gets a role (I won't say which role) and starts having voice practice with Apprentice Daysmoor. She doesn't like Daysmoor from the very start. He's a grumpy, mean, emotionless man but is he really?

Sing realizes that everything is not how it seems. She faces a lot of challenges. She finds love in the most unexpected place. She runs into betrayal. But most of all, she finds herself.

My Review:

This book was very original. There was enough hinting at was gonna happen that it didn't leave you utterly confused and enough restraint that you didn't feel like there were spoilers. Some may say that Adi hinted too much but I thought it was just right. I loved how Sing's name wasn't just a random choice that the author picked to make the book nicer. It was a conscious decision and affected a lot of things in the book. She was able to emphasize the pressure put on Sing. She was also able to show how Daysmoor helped her find herself without being the sole (or even main) cause for her determination to finally find herself and get better.

WARNING: THIS PART MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!!!

6:30 PM
4 Comments

Book in Review: The Haven by Carol Lynch Williams

Arc

Title: The Haven
Author: Carol Lynch Williams
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Publishing Date: March 4, 2014
Format: ARC
Rating: 2/5 stars

The Haven is a story that deals with the conflict between that of ethics and science and that of morality and survival. Its premise borders around dystopian to science fiction, genres I am very interested in as they mirror our society today or what our society aspires to be in terms of technology and lifestyle. Theoretically, this is a book that I should have loved, especially because the cover is interesting, and the premise sounds intriguing. However, Williams's The Haven failed to produce something original and distinct - and its plot felt washed out and is obviously a poor man's version of a bunch of other YA and adult dystopian books (one particular adult book which everyone else has pointed out, but I will not mention in this review). In fairness, it is quite difficult to come up with something original given the wide array of dystopian literature. Comparisons are not at all fair, but The Haven failed to add or contribute anything new to the overused concept of cloning. I am not quite sure about this book, except that its timing was very bad. If published a few years back, The Haven could've been better received even with the flimsy writing and the flat characterization.

The narrative was flat, something that can be excused as the main character being supposed to be awkward and lacking of emotion.Yet even with that considered, the story itself should still be engaging and interesting. However, this was not the case. The Haven fell short of being extraordinary or even intriguing at the very least, and I found myself being able to guess everything that happened next.

The world-building was quite messy. I don't know if I was just being dense but it felt all too confusing, and I found it very difficult to distinguish the Terminals and the Whole. The characters were like cardboard cutouts. They were all forgettable even the main character Shiloh. The whole book revolves around them just talking but there is no corresponding action. All throughout the book they talk about escaping from The Haven, but they don't even have an actual game plan on how to do it. Even the information they had retrieved about the Haven and outside of it doesn't feel like it was scavenged with much effort; it felt as if things just appeared to them conveniently. The ending is a bit rushed and does not imply anything about a sequel, possibly because I found myself disinterested to the point I did not care about what happens next.

Truthfully, I had no expectations when I started The Haven. I hadn't read anything else about it before so it was a book that I started out fresh with no expectations. I liked The Haven's premise - the conflict between morality and science has been the subject of debates everywhere, and it is something that will stay relevant throughout time. However, this is the only thing I liked about the book. Given such premise, you would expect a story that is intense and emotionally gripping. Sadly, there is nothing that will make your heart thump out of this book, and the grade of 2 stars is only one based on effort, as to write a book like this requires plenty of research, (though also a bit lacking) when it comes to world-building and the scientific theories.

8:39 PM
4 Comments

March 2014 Releases

2014 books

Ahhh March... New month, new book releases! There are a lot of fantastic books coming out this month, some we've read or are currently reading, but out of all those upcoming releases, we're most excited about the following!