Review: Die for You

After Emma's parents divorced, she moved to be with her father - which meant changing schools. She meets Dillon almost immediately. She's drawn to him and can't believe her good luck when he feels the same way. Now near the end of their senior year, they're planning their futures together.

When an opportunity comes knocking for Emma, she knows she'd be crazy to turn it down. But Dillon isn't excited about her news. It's the first time they fight and it never seems to go away.

How can the person who loves her the most be against her happiness? And more importantly - how can she make it up to him?

My Thoughts: I really wanted to read this book - both because of the author and because of the subject matter. I loved her previous book: Matter of Heart

In many ways, this was a hard book to read because of the subject matter. And there were a few instances where I had to skip paragraphs. But this book was Powerful! And Heart-wrenching. And Honest. 

Before she knows it, Emma's is in an abusive relationship. She knows something isn't quite right. But she's not sure what to do. She dismisses some of Dillon's actions but when push comes to shove, she tries to make things right. I felt terrible for Emma going through this relationship. Dillon saved her, loved her, and manipulated her. But I also admired her at the end. She sought help. She saved herself. 

She had a lot of issues to sort out with her own family being torn apart. And she wasn't the best of friends. She didn't share her life with her sister or her best friend from home. She cut herself off from the rest of the world. 

I really enjoyed Emma's interest in archaeology and Pompeii especially.  I wasn't a fan of the majority of Dillon's friends with the exception of Jace.  I really enjoyed her relationship with her father and how that grew back to normal. 

While this isn't a romance, it ends in a hopeful manner with a thoughtful afterword. 

About an important subject matter, Die for You is a perfect book to pick up, share, and start a conversation. 

Cover Thoughts: Intriguing
Source: Book sent for Review
Fun Fact: There's a blurb on the back that's from my Matter of Heart Review!
Come back Saturday for a brochure of other books featuring this topic.

Library Recommendation: A Highly Recommended Purchase for both school and public libraries and hand sell it to teens. This is a must read for teens, especially girls. 

Review: Meant to Be

Julia's excited to be spending her spring vacation week in London - until she realizes that her friends aren't going and even worse she's partnered with her nemesis for the trip. Jason's just so...goofy, annoying, and smug. Julia can't believe she's stuck with him.

The first night, he takes her to a party. She lets loose for the first time. She becomes someone braver, someone interesting, someone who's not a know it all.

Afterwards, the two strike up a bargain. Jason will help Julia text flirt with a boy she met at the party and in turn Julia will write up their assignments.

Julia's vision of this trip changed the minute she was partnered with Jason, but he brings her places she never knew about. Could she be seeing him a whole new light?

My Thoughts: I took this book with me on vacation and devoured it. I felt like Julia was a modern day nonmagical Hermoine Granger. She's always reader, knows everything, and maybe needs to have a little more fun. I like how she tries to break out of her shell during the party - and how the spirals out of control. I love traveling around London with the tour group and with Jason and Julia on their own. I loved the banter between Julia and Jason. I loved getting to know Jason better - between the singing and the graffiti park moments. I liked how Julia had a grand idea of romance after hearing the stories about her parents falling in love. A really fun novel, perfect for a library collection.

Cover Thoughts: Cute - I really liked reading this piece about the evolution of the cover
Source: Gifted from my #otspsecretsister