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Since You Left Me Allen Zadoff Book Review

by April (Books&Wine)

Dear YA readers, bloggers, contemporary afficionados, HURRY UP and discover Allen Zadoff. Seriously, Zadoff’s books are not buzzed or reviewed enough which makes me feel dismayed. I’m pretty sure a lot of you enjoy witty contemps with awkward, realistic male main characters. If so, you NEED to read Zadoff’s works. His latest, Since You Left Me totally does not disappoint on the humor front.

Since You Left Me

Since You Left Me probes important issues of faith, divorce, family relationships and long standing crushes. Sanskrit Aaron Zuckerman attends a prestigious LA Jewish school because of money in a trust from his dead grandfather who stipulates he must use the money to attend Jewish schools or it goes to Tay-Sachs research. Sanksrit, however, feelings like a fraud at school because is an unbeliever.

He doesn’t have the typical family background either. Sanksrit’s parents are divorced. He lives with his eccentric new age yoga teacher mother, and little sister named Sweet Caroline, like the song. When Sanksrit’s mom doesn’t show up for a parent-teacher conference, he tells a small lie that soon snowballs and Since You Left Me focuses on the repercussions of that lie.

OMG, you guys, I really liked Sanskrit. Yes, he’s a total teenage boy at times, but he’s got heart and is dealing with a lot. I’m willing to be forgiving of his boyisms. Further, let me tell you, if his mom was my mom, I’d totally be more harsh. This lady, ugh, peeps, I can’t even. She was so immature and selfish and awful. I admired Sanskrit for being able to put up with her issues. Plus he is super funny in that dry, sarcastic sort of way. I loved it. I loved how yeah okay, he doesn’t exactly deal with his problems the right way, but it seemed like the way some people would react.

I pretty much blasted through Since You Left Me in a sitting and a half and I hardly do that these days. If you’re looking for a male protagonist with an excellent and unique and strong voice, definitely read Zadoff’s Since You Left Me. I personally cannot recommend it enough.

Disclosure: Received for review via Netgalley

Other reviews of Since You Left Me by Allen Zadoff:

A Good Addiction – “a witty twist on feeling out of place and unsure.”

Books by Allen Zadoff:

My Life, The Theater And Other Tragedies

One Moment Kristina McBride Book Review

by April (Books&Wine)

Maggie’s summer was supposed to be epic. She’s got the best friends ever, a fantastic boyfriend and is going to be a senior. One Moment by Kristina McBride shows what happens after tragedy strikes Maggie’s life in a poignant, can’t look away, tear through the pages sort of manner.

One Moment

Y’all, I was fairly invested in McBride’s sophomore novel and was totally feeling THE THINGS from rage to very slight swoons. So, basically the gist of the plot of One Moment is that Maggie and her friends go cliff diving one day. Her boyfriend, Joey, jumps off and ends up dying in a horrific accident. Maggie can’t remember how it happened because she’s been traumatized and so, represses her memories. She then spends her grief putting Joey on a pedestal but of course, SECRETS come out.

As a fan of secrets and drama, I think that One Moment delivers. Despite my being able to predict all of the major plot points right down to a certain first date, I really liked One Moment. I love a plot where there are twists, turns, backstabbing and some tight pacing. This book is short, yes, but. there’s also not a lot of BS to cut through to get to the heart of the story. Seriously, McBride’s latest is a very quick page turner.

Plus, I unfortunately could identify with Maggie – not in that I’ve ever lost a boyfriend to a horrific tragedy. However, I have been in the position where I’ve put a guy on a pedestal and made him out to be something more than what he was or deserved (out of a low self esteem). But still, it sucks, but I had empathy for her. I will also say that I desperately wanted Maggie to knock a certain character out, but alas that did not happen which was kind of disappointing.

I think that I am not alone in that experience and a lot of girls will be able to relate to Kristina McBride’s main character, Maggie. I think if you like contemporary with lots of secrets and don’t mind predictability, you will end up enjoying One Moment as much as I did.

Disclosure: Received for review via Netgalley.

Other reviews of One Moment by Kristina McBride:

Rather Be Reading – “Incredibly fast-paced and engaging”

Galleysmith – “Had the benefit of a suspenseful tone”

VeganYANerds – “A little frustrating”

Other Books by Kristina McBride:

The Tension of Opposites

A & L Do Summer Jan Blazanin Book Review

by Allison L

“This is my first summer in Cottonwood Creek, and our last summer in high school. We’re going to soar from the depths of anonymity to the peak of notoriety. By September, Aspen Parks and Laurel Piedmont will own this town.” p. 17

Growing up in a small country town, I remember all about being a teenager and feeling the occasional need to break free or change my social status. I think this is why A&L Do Summer by Jan Blazanin appealed so much to me when I first picked it up at the E. Lockhart event that was held at Oblong Books (LOVE Oblong Books!) last year. From the moment I read the back cover, I was intrigued by the premise of the story, and immediately decided that A & L Do Summer by Jan Blazanin was the book that I was going to take as my ‘free gift’.

A & L Do Summer

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Every Other Day Jennifer Lynn Barnes Book Review

by April (Books&Wine)

Every Other Day, Kali is human, until dawn hits, then she turns into something OTHER — a hunter with enhanced senses and strengths. You see, the world in Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ Every Other Day is built on an intriguing premise. Instead of discovering giant turtles, Darwin discovers preternatural creatures. The stupid government decides to protect the monsters – zombies, hellhounds, and the like. This leaves Kali to act like a vigilante every other night.

Every Other Day

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Never Sit Down In A Hoopskirt by Crickett Rumley Book Review

by April (Books&Wine)

Never Sit Down In A Hoopskirt is a novel that was hilariously penned by Cricket Rumley about southern debutantes. Whenever I read a book set in the south, I always feel the need to talk about how exotic the south is to me. Seriously, t he only southern place I have been is Orlando, Florida and I imagine that isn’t exactly THE REAL SOUTH. I feel a bit of a special connection to the south as my parents raised me on a steady diet of country music, so it might as well be a magical land.

Never Sit Down In A Hoopskirt

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Family by Micol Ostow Book Review

by April (Books&Wine)

Family by Micol Ostow is a free verse fictionalization of the Charles Manson murders. The story is told from the point of view of Melinda Jensen, a troubled 17 year old who desperately seeks affection. As she is a runaway, she sleeps on park benches. And so while passed out on a park bench she meets Henry, aka Charles Manson.

Family

Henry provides everything, including sex. Melinda finds herself deeper and deeper in his lurid world of sex, drugs, and rock and roll.

Family is a quick reader, but I never connected with Melinda. It’s not because I’m anti-verse, but she didn’t seem to have a personality beyond her past rapes and then her fixation on Henry. It seemed to me that Melinda was defined by her victimization, and well, I’m pretty sure people are more than their victimizations.

While I am pro-sex, Family overdid it for me, it was just too much, and maybe I say that because it was gross sex, drug induced hippy sex. I am also pro-reading about cults, but I never got a sense of how Mel let herself get to that point. I never felt a sense a depth, and ya’ll I know depth can be achieved in verse novels, I read Crank, I know what’s up.

While I think Family was a great concept, this obviously was not the best execution of the story. I did however wind up researching The Manson Murders on wikipedia, so yay for curiosity?

Disclosure: Received for review

Other Reviews:

Frenetic Reader
Forever Young Adult
Chick Loves Lit

Purchase Family by Micol Ostow here. *FYI I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you if you buy things from Amazon after clicking link.

Book Review: Hourglass by Myra McEntire

by April (Books&Wine)

Book Review: Hourglass by Myra McEntire

Hourglass

Hourglass by Myra McEntire is hefty, not gonna lie, you could smack someone with it and do some serious damage, however, it is totally engaging! You see, main lady Emerson Cole sees iterations of people from the past. This is a problem for Emerson, as no else can see these people, so she’s not sure if they are real or not. (Also upon reading those last three words, did you automatically think Mockingjay?!) Her brother/guardian Thomas hires a lot of loonies to try and help Em, but none of them seem to work. Eventually Thomas comes across Hourglass institute and hires young Micheal, who is actually kinda sorta hot according to Em. Micheal is not a quack at all and obviously gets it. He legit helps her. Toss in the awesome Lily, Em’s best friend who does not get enough face time but is confident, sarcastic, and loyal and we have a champion book. Hourglass is a truly winsome debut.

If I don’t think about it, my automatic response to time travel is ‘do not like’, but then I think deeper and realize I’ve enjoyed the vast majority of time travel books I have read. Do you do this too? Feel automatically turned off by a phrase, but then think harder and realize you actually like things associated with that phrase?

I just had to put that out there. For a time travel book, Myra McEntire never gets too science-y. I was never confused by what was going on. I never felt like I needed a special physics class just to ‘get it’. So those who are put off by things that seem science-y, don’t be.

One thing I really enjoyed about Hourglass was the romance. I really am a romantic at heart. While Emerson was attracted to Micheal at first, it’s not like they have an insta-love. Instead, their relationship develops in a usual progression. Also, Micheal is not a raging asshole, as is wont with many leading men. Oh no, he actually listens to what she has to say, and by this I mean truly listen, not wait for what he can say next. I really like that whole nice guy quality, and hope this is a harbinger of the rise of the nice guys in YA, because assholes cloaked as bad boys totally need to go.

If you are in the mood for a fantastic read about time and travel and love and connections and self-deprecation, definitely read Hourglass. It is truly one of the more fabulous debuts I have read so far this year.

Disclosure: Received for review.

Other Reviews:

The Discriminating Fan Girl

YA Reads

Bloody Bookaholic

Purchase Hourglass by Myra McEntire here

My Life, The Theater And Other Tragedies by Allen Zadoff

by April (Books&Wine)

Book Review: My Life, The Theater And Other Tragedies by Allen Zadoff

My Life, The Theater, And Other Tragedies

I am pretty much in love with My Life, The Theater And Other Tragedies by Allen Zadoff. I devoured this book in the span of a few hours. I’d say to myself just one more chapter until I finished it.

Adam Zeigler, sophmore, is a techie. Techies do not mix with actors at Montclair High due to some unwritten rule. Adam is alright with this, after all, he’s mainly concerned with lighting and life on the catwalk. This year Montclair is doing something completely new. The drama department is putting on a student-produced/directed version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. However, producer Derek is kind of a pompous ass, womanizing and takes credit for all of the good things other people do. Will Adam find the courage to break the rules, grow a set, and get the girl?

Okay, first of all, Adam is so endearing. I just want to smooth down his hair, buy him some Proactiv and say it’s going to be okay. We see him go from being withdrawn – which is understandable, after all his dad died two years ago – to really coming into his own voice. At first he’s painfully shy and awkward. He has these awesome ideas, like designing lighting a certain way, BUT stupid Derek has to be in total control of everything. But, it’s okay because the techies are a tight group. They have their own code. There is the leader Ignacio, who has ADD so he can focus on a bazillion things at once. Then there’s Reach, who is Adam’s best friend. Reach, holy crap, is so funny. He makes a bunch of smart-ass comments and I kind of would like to have a beer with him when he’s old enough. (Also Mr. Zadoff, please make a sequel starring Reach!) Also there’s Benno who has mutton chops and works a board that does some tech thing. Finally we have Half Crack, named because his ass is always at half moon. Okay, so back to Adam. I loved seeing him interact with the techies. I loved seeing him become friends with one of Derek’s old flames, even though that’s against code. AND the romance, oh the roms. It’s awesome to get it from the guy’s side, and not like a castrated guy either. There’s actually mention of boobs. And sorry, but that is what teenage boys think about. It’s what males in their mid-20s think about. I kind of get shocked when I read male character narrated novels and there isn’t talk about cleavage or any of that. Right, so Adam, he’s just at an awkward stage in life, and who doesn’t remember being awkward?

The romance in My Life, The Theater And Other Tragedies is delightful. I mean, it’s not on the level of Anna And The French Kiss, but it’s a bit better than insta-love. There’s a crush at first, sort of a big attraction, but it doesn’t immediately come to fruition. Plus Adam is so freakin’ shy, he has a hard time saying hey let’s date. Then okay, there’s mixed signals, missed opportunities. But no fear, you’ll get the chance to cheer for underdog Adam.

So, I am about to pick up a copy of Food, Girls, And Other Things I Can’t Have, because I fricken LOVED My Life, The Theater And Other Tragedies, and I think Allen Zadoff is a contemporary author to watch out for. Also, I really just like reading about males who are allowed to be males instead of some fantasy of how we wish guys acted.

Disclosure: Received for review.

Other Reviews:

GalleySmith
Chick Loves Lit
The Book Pixie

Purchase My Life, The Theater And Other Tragedies here.

Human .4 by Mike Lancaster

by April (Books&Wine)

Book Review: Human .4 by Mike Lancaster

Human .4

If you have not ever seen the Twilight Zone circa 1950s, you need to change your life and hop to Netflix instant and watch it. That show is like the grandfather of mind fucks. Every episode has me going what the what? And why would I start off a review of Human .4 by Mike Lancaster talking about The Twilight Zone? WELL, Human .4 is fairly reminiscent of The Twilight Zone, in that your mind will be fucked with and you will find yourself going hmmmm, what the heck just happened. After I finished Human .4, I had to tell my boyfriend about it and discuss the ending and the premise. He pretty much gave me an odd look.

We begin the book with an editor’s note, explaining that what you are about to read is the transcripts of the Kyle Straker tapes. Just like now, tapes are an antiquated technology in the world of Human .4. Unlike today, books are archaic as well. Human .4 then delves into Kyle Straker’s story which is quite odd. You see, Kyle has this pretty normal life (also, they live in England, so the slang is kind of weird), his parents fight a lot, and he has good friends. All of this completely changes when Kyle volunteers to be hypnotized for his friend Danny’s act in the town talent show. Upon waking up from hypnotization, Kyle finds, along with the other three volunteers, life as they know it has completely changed.

It is freaky. I won’t go into spoilers, because half of the fun is in the mind games this book plays. I will also say one of my fears is played on. Hint: Isolation. There are also choices which the characters must make. The choices carry a moderate degree of risk, no matter what they choose, there’s a downside. And I thought that was interesting, that for a certain section, there is no clear choice to make. I liked that.

I was also a fan of how much Human .4 made me think. It may not be the greatest book ever written, but it made me pause and consider, despite taking me about 3 hours to read. It made me consider several what-ifs. And I’d like to think a book that gives one pause is always a good thing. Also: there are Dr. Who references for those of you who go in for that sort of thing.

If you are looking for some science fiction that doesn’t quite feel like science fiction, definitely pick up Mike Lancaster’s Human .4. Especially if like me, you aren’t all that attracted to sci-fi but want to read it so you can fit in with the cool kids, as this is totally sci-fi lite.

Disclosure: Received for review.

Other Reviews:

Helen’s Book Blog
GalleySmith
TenCentNotes
Hobbitsies

Purchase Human .4 here

Book Review: Carmen by Walter Dean Myers

by April (Books&Wine)

Carmen

You know how you read a really excellent adaptation of a story and that becomes the standard by which you set all of the other adaptations? Then you may get really disappointed when other versions don’t quite live up to your expectations.

Unfortunately, Carmen by Walter Dean Myers did not live up to my expectations. Myers’ version of Carmen is a play, with two acts and as I recall four scenes. We meet Carmen and her friends who are getting raided by the police in Harlem. We see that Carmen is mad hot, I guess, because guys are falling all over themselves for her. However, Carmen has a thing for police officer Jose. Then we end up in some bar, where former projects resident-turned-famous producer Escamillo shows up. Oh yeah, and he has a thing for Carmen as well. Tragedy ensues in the very next scene.

I guess I felt this version by Walter Dean Myers was under developed. There weren’t enough scenes to get to know the characters. I had no idea what was so magnetic about Carmen. I had no idea why Jose was so attracted to her except for her looks. I didn’t feel the same passion as my favorite version of Carmen. I mean, my ARC copy was literally 110 pages and did not have the author’s note. Perhaps the author’s note would have upped my opinion of this version, but I doubt it.

I suppose the very best thing about Carmen by Walter Dean Myers is that it is a fast read. I read it during the 24 hour readathon and it legit took me half an hour to read, as it’s in play form, and only 110 pages, and well, those aren’t prose type pages with sentences and paragraphs taking up the full page. No it was like one sentence of 8 words. Line. Next character. Sentence. Line. Next character. So yes, literally a read that takes no time.

I think Carmen may appeal to people who don’t like reading, because it’s short. It’s a play. There’s a lot of blank space. Plus there’s some violence.

However, if you want an excellent adaptation of this story, I suggest you skip Carmen by Walter Dean Myers and run out and buy When The Stars Go Blue by Caridad Ferrer instead.

Disclosure: Received for review.

Other Reviews:

The Book Splot
The Electrical Book Cafe
Killin Time Reading
Sarah’s Random Musings

Purchase a copy of Carmen here.