Review: Someone Else's Summer

Most days, it used to be Anna, Storm and Cameron together. But then Anna grew tired of being the third wheel and sought out other opportunities. Now her sister, her best friend, is dead. And she's left to pick up on the pieces and move on.

One night while in her sister's room, she discovers a list. Her sister used to create lists all the time, but it's been a while since Anna and Storm completed a list together. Now Anna feels compelled to complete the list her sister will never get the chance to start.

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this book. Since it's all about lists, here's 10 reasons why I liked this book:

I didn't see the end coming, but I liked it. It's realistic and understandable. Oh, I forgot about the camera when making my lists. I loved the picture part. Reading this book made me want to write my own list of summer moments. 

Cover Thoughts: Perfection - a moment captured in time with a Polaroid.
Source: ARC sent for review

Read A Dessen: The Truth About Forever

I adore Sarah Dessen's books so I'm happy to be part of the #ReadADessen blog tour from Penguin. Tons of blogs will be talking about her books, leading up to her newest book which I can't wait to read: Once and For All coming out June 6th.  It's So far away, but there's still time to re-read her backlist if you seriously can not wait any longer! 

If you're stuck on where to start, I wrote up this blog post last year. Take a look.

About the Book:

As bubbly as champagne and delectable as wedding cake, Once and for All, Sarah Dessen's thirteenth novel, is set in the world of wedding planning, where crises are routine.

Louna, daughter of famed wedding planner Natalie Barrett, has seen every sort of wedding: on the beach, at historic mansions, in fancy hotels and clubs. Perhaps that's why she's cynical about happily-ever-after endings, especially since her own first love ended tragically. When Louna meets charming, happy-go-lucky serial dater Ambrose, she holds him at arm's length. But Ambrose isn't about to be discouraged, now that he's met the one girl he really wants.

Sarah Dessen’s many, many fans will adore her latest, a richly satisfying, enormously entertaining story that has everything—humor, romance, and an ending both happy and imperfect, just like life itself.

About the Author:
Sarah Dessen is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of over a dozen novels for teens, which have received numerous awards and rave reviews. Her books have been published in over thirty countries and have sold millions of copies worldwide. She is the recipient of the 2017 Margaret A. Edwards Award from the American Library Association for outstanding contribution to young adult literature for her novels: Keeping the Moon, Dreamland, This Lullaby, The Truth about Forever, Just Listen, Along for the Ride, and What Happened to Goodbye. Her newest novel, Once and for All, will be released in June 2017. An NC native, she currently lives in Chapel Hill with her family.

It's always hard to pick a favorite book by an author you love. But as soon as I read The Truth About Forever, I knew it was a different kind of love. So I happily re-read it to remember all the reasons I fell in love with it the first time.

Of course, it didn't disappoint me. 

10 Reasons I adore this book:
The Truth Game
The Chaos in the Kitchen
Macy learning not to be perfect
Wes
Wes's sculptures
 Gotcha Game
Kristy's outlook on life
Monica's word count
Healing from Grief
The horrible library girls

There are so many reasons to love this book. The words just washed over me as I read it. I felt a connection to the chaos and finding yourself free in your choices.

It's the type of book I want to hug after reading it.
I tried thinking of a sentence or two to pull out from it to share as my favorite quote, but there are simply too many.

So Read it for yourself and let me know what you think of it.

I hope you love it as much as I do.

Giveaway of Sarah Dessen's paperback books:

Enter for a chance to win one (1) set of Sarah Dessen’s books in paperback (ARV: $132.00).

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Enter between 12:00 AM Eastern Time on April 17, 2017 and 12:00 AM on May 29, 2017.  Open to residents of the fifty United States and the District of Columbia who are 13 and older. Winners will be selected at random on or about June 1, 2017. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received. Void where prohibited or restricted by law.

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Review: When We Collided

Vivi meets Jonah - life changes for both of them. Vivi wants to be free and loved. She finds comfort in Jonah's messy family.

Jonah wants to be normal again, after his father's death left a huge whole in his life. He's helping pick up the pieces, but he's sacred to tell anyone the truth about his family life.

They find strength in each other, finding each other at just the right time.

My Thoughts: I loved this book. It's the story of how one summer changed two people forever. I loved that this book wasn't a romance. Life wasn't perfect for either of them. Vivi is bipolar and in the beginning scene, she decides to stop taking her medication. That decision influences everything. Jonah's grief is eating at him, but his mother shutting down in her grief is almost unbearable. It leaves him and his brother to pick up the slack. The responsibility eats away at him, he's not certain of anything, but he's reaching his breaking point. Vivi is a breathe of fresh air for him. They have adventures and share secrets. I love that everything isn't easy, that they have really big problems but find each other anyways.
I adored Jonah's younger siblings. They added humor to the story.
I loved the dual perspectives.
I loved the bookish references

Cover Thoughts: Love it
Source: My Library

Final Thoughts: A messy look at summer complied with grief and mental illness in an emotional powerhouse of a book. Read this one! 

My Grandfather and Me

21 years ago today, we lost my grandfather very suddenly. I was a freshman in high school and I was devastated. February 5th is always a hard day, but today I'm going to take time for the happy memories over the sadness and gaping hole in my heart.

This is one of my favorite pictures of my sister and I with our grandparents.

You can read the rest of my post from last year here about what I remember most about him. 

February 5th and My Grandfather

20 years ago yesterday, we lost my grandfather very suddenly. I was a freshman in high school and I was devastated. February 5th is always a hard day, but yesterday I took time for memories. The happy times won out over the sadness and gaping hole in my heart.

In this picture, we're celebrating his birthday. We were going to eat a lemon meringue pie - which we both loved.  I turned 10 a few months ago and yes, I'm at the awkward stage in my life.

My Grandfather:

He loved Sweets - I inherited his sweet tooth - from candy to afternoon treats at tea.
He hated vegetables - me too
He didn't cook - anything.
He had a wicked sense of humor - I'd like to think I do as well
He liked Sports - mostly baseball - ok, so he rooted for the Yankees and I'm a Celtics fan.
He came to my sporting events from midget league to my JV games 
I come from a family of readers - he read sports books
One year, he made me a book of Marmaduke comics - I love them
He got me into puzzles - which I love and can pull out a missing piece from the box that he'd been looking for for ages. Which both irritated him and made him proud.
He volunteered at the food pantry in town - bending the rules as needed. I have been known to bend rules here or there when it benefits people.

Of course there are all the nevers:
He never got to meet my husband
He never knew that I became a YA Librarian
and so many more.

But I'm choosing this year to remember all the fun times and not the nevers. And a heart full of love at the times we had together and not the times we lost.