Review: And We Stay

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Title: And We Stay
Author: Jenny Hubbard
Series: none
Age Group: young adult
Format: hardback
Pages: 224
Release Date: January 28, 2014
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Source: public library

Senior Paul Wagoner walks into his high school library with a stolen gun, threatens his girlfriend, Emily Beam, and then takes his own life. In the wake of the trauma, an angry and guilt-ridden Emily is sent to boarding school in Amherst, Massachusetts. Two quirky fellow students and the spirit of Emily Dickinson offer helping hands, but it is up to Emily Beam to heal her own damaged self.
This inventive story, told in verse and in prose, paints the aftermath of tragedy as a landscape where there is good behind the bad, hope inside the despair, and springtime under the snow.

Hello, everyone! A small update about my life: I know have a job! Unfortunately, that means less time to dedicate my summer to reading, but I'll survive. Now, on to the review. I'm not a big poetry reader. I think the most recent poem I read was "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe. And that was about three years ago. I do have these bookmarks with Emily Dickinson poems. Very cute.

So, when I picked up this book at the library and read the summary, I almost put it down and moved on. As I was flipping through the pages, I noticed, the whole book isn't in poetry, so I checked it out. I'm so glad I did. One of the reading I went on a book hiatus is because of the young adult repitition. There always has to be a love story thrown in, and it's usually the main focus, instead of building a good plot.

Although And We Stay does involve a romance story, that is not the main focus. Emily Beam has to get over her past, and move on with her life. It's the reason the setting is at a boarding school, far away from home. As a person who values her friends on the same scale as family, I loved how Emily grows through her friends. It's beautiful! Additionally, she finds comfort in her writing, something which I can relate to.

I could go on and on about how this book is different, and a great contemporary novel, but you will just get bored with me. Honestly, it's a small book. It was definitely a quick read. Go pick up this book either if you are a big fan of poetry, Emily Dickinson, or love a book that emphasizes friendships.

My Rating:

Review: Gamer Girl

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Title: Gamer Girl

Author: Mari Mancusi

Series: none

Age Group: young adult

Format: hardcover

Pages: 248

Release Date: November 13, 2008

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile

Source: library

ZOMG, IT ROX TO BE A GAMER GIRL!
Maddy's life: not so rockin'. Her parents split, she's stuck in a new, small town at a school full of Aberzombies and Haters, she has a crush on someone she really shouldn't like, and she's stuck with the nickname Freak Girl. Sometimes it's enough to retreat into her drawing--her manga is totally important to her--but when she gets Fields of Fantasy for her birthday, she knows she's found the one place she can be herself. In the game world, Maddy can transform from regular outcast high school student to Allora, a beautiful Elfin princess with magical powers to take down enemies with a snap of her fingers and a wave of her wand.
As Allora, Maddy's virtual life is perfect, and she even finds a little romance. But a real gamer girl understands that real life comes first--Maddy can't escape from her IRL problems. She has to find ways to kick back at the Haters, rock her manga, and find the new, real-life friends she knows she deserves.

Have you ever read a unique book where no matter how hard you try, you can't seem to find anything like it? Gamer Girl would have to be one of those types of books. There's nothing really special in wording that Mari Mancusi uses. But somehow, the plot draws me in. It's different, to say the least.

I  read Gamer Girl about three years ago, and at that time, I was a seventh grader. The cover drew me in(I always judge the cover) and when I finished the book, it stuck with me. Here I am now, three years later, re-reading, and reviewing it on here. I couldn't get it out of my head, and I wanted it on my blog.

Maddy is the type of misunderstood gothy girl. She moves to a new school, where she is deemed "Freak Girl". Like I said, the word choices aren't the best, and at times, the plot is slightly cliche, but the story is wonderful. Who doesn't love a happily ever after? Anyways, back to Maddy. So, Maddy loves to draw anything manga(a Japanese art style). She also loves playing a game titled Fields of Fantasy. Through this, she meets a chivalrous knight, SirLeo. Maddy is swept away into a wonderful relationship with SirLeo.

In the real world, Maddy has a huge crush on Chad, who I couldn't help be like. He was sweet but shy and at times could be considered a coward, but who cares! Frankly, Chad was a sensitive guy. Maddy made a great choice in picking him.

Overall, Gamer Girl could be considered a cliche read, but it's a really cute and fast read. You won't regret reading it(especially if you're into manga)!

Side Note: If anyone has read this book and has a recommendation for fans of this book, feel free to leave the book title(s) in the comments! I've desperately been searching for a book like this.

My Rating:

About the Author:

Mari Mancusi is the author of several books for teens and adults, including Boys That Bite, Stake That!, and Girls That Growl. In addition to writing, Mari also enjoys snowboarding, clubbing, shopping, eighties music, and her favorite guilty pleasure, video games. IRL she's a television producer in New York City, where she lives with her very sweet dog, Molly.

A Lesson Before Dying

Author: Ernest J. Gaines
Series: None
Age Group: Adult
Challenge: None
Format: Paperback
Pages: 256
Published: September 28, 1997(first published 1993)
Publisher: Vintage (a division of Random House)
Source: Bought
My Rating: *

A Lesson Before Dying is set in a small Cajun community in the late 1940s. Jefferson, a young black man, is an unwitting party to a liquor store shootout in which three men are killed; the only survivor, he is convicted of murder and sentenced to death. Grant Wiggins, who left his hometown for the university, has returned to the plantation school to teach. As he struggles with his decision whether to stay or escape to another state, his aunt and Jefferson's godmother persuade him to visit Jefferson in his cell and impart his learning and his pride to Jefferson before his death. In the end, the two men forge a bond as they both come to understand the simple heroism or resisting--and defying--the unexpected.

If you just want to get to the review, skip this paragraph. Okay, first of all, I owe my readers a sincere apology. I'm really and truly sorry. Although excuses are never enough, I will tell a little about what has been happening in my life. I have just entered high school as a freshman, and homework is piling up as big as my TBR pile(that is A LOT). Silly old me thought classes would be so easy, and this is why I foolishly entered all PREAP and AP classes. But, if I want to enter medical school, I have to stick with this vigorous schedule. Anyways, well, there goes my excuse, but I promise(SWEAR) to TRY to balance my homework and book reading to at least do one review every week. Now, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but the review this week is a book completely out of my genre, so sorry if I bore you. I will try harder next time.

Let's see...I hate being forced to read a book by another person. Sure, recommending is fine, constantly insisting me to read a particular book is fine, but forcing me to read a book I know I won't like, is NOT FINE. Which is what happened with A Lesson Before Dying. So, this is not the book's fault, but it just lost one star.

Well, Jefferson was a wimp, and apparently, a "hog." I didn't understand. All of a sudden, Grant has to teach Jefferson to behave like a human. Jefferson resists. Almost at the last chapter, Jefferson all of a sudden changes. Magical!

I detested Vivian, Grant's girlfriend. I mean, she keeps telling Grant she will not run away with him, because she does not want to lose the children, and yet she keeps hanging out with him. We NEVER even meet the kids!! What kind of a mother is she?

I could just keep ranting on and on about this book, but I'll just tell you here and now. DO NOT EVER READ THIS BOOK!! I detested A Lesson Before Dying, and the only reason I picked this book up is because I was forced to. Maybe there is a deeper meaning in it, but I will not be the one to figure it out. Besides, I have to do three long projects, which does not make for a happy me.

And I had been on such a good reading streak. So much for that. The last I will do is explain why this book went to one(1) star.
One(1) star for being forced to read it, one(1) for quality, one(1) for plot, and one because it put me in a bad mood/and I have to do homework on it.

About the Author:
Ernest J. Gaines was born on a plantation in Pointe Coupee Parish, near New Roads, Louisiana, which is the Bayonne of all his fictional works. His previous books include A Gather of Old Men, In My Father's House, A Long Day in November, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, Bloodline, Of Love and Dust, and Catherine Carmier. He divides his time between San Francisco and the University of Southwestern Louisiana, in Lafayette, where he is writer-in-residence.

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**P.S.-I promise to only review these types of genres when I am forced to read them in school**