ONE OF US IS LYING

By: Karen M. McManus

Plot: Five stereotypical high school students all wind up in detention, where one of them ends up murdered! Dun dun dun. 

Thoughts: I was determined to figure this book out. But it doesn't take long to realize that these are all likeable characters and you don't really want any one of them to be the murderer. I knew it wouldn't be the two in love, obviously. I thought it was that girl for a long time, but that couldn't be right. Then I got to the sentence that made up the title of the novel and realized that one crucial word was left out. What turned out to be the ending had crossed my mind, but by then I was just waiting for the ending to unfold, not as obsessed with figuring it out myself.

This was a fun easy read, dare I say campy? The writing was good though and I enjoyed all the characters. It's like reading a 90's high school movie. Which wasn't a bad thing. Do they really make high school movies anymore? Normal ones without any teenagers having super powers or something. Anyways, this book isn't ground breaking literature but it isn't trying to be. It's just fun. It's a perfect summer beach read. And yes there is the stereotypical "bad boy" and "bookish girl" love story and I ate it right up. 

Rating: 3/5 I mean it is kind of misleading but I forgive it. 

LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE

By: Celeste Ng

Plot: I don't even know how to condense the plot into a few sentences because there is just so much going on... but I'll try. About a "perfect" family living the good life in a great neighborhood until a single mother and her daughter come into their lives and burn ish down. I guess that works. 

Thoughts: This book, like her first novel, is basically about family, and motherhood specifically. There is so much going on with all the characters that its almost like reading about a soup opera. Everyone is keeping secrets from everyone. But it doesn't feel all that dramatic, just life.

I kept wondering how the author felt, does she think Bebe should have the baby or the McCulloughs? One second you'd be reading about how hard Bebe had it and start to sympathize with her. Then the next page was all about how Mrs. McCullough lovingly cared for the baby as if she were her own. It went back and forth like that the whole time and you just realize that there is no one obvious answer. There really were no winners in this situation. The thing that tipped me to Bebe's favor, apart from the fact that she was her mother, was the total lack of sympathy from the McCulloughs. I understand that it is a heartbreaking situation, but how could you live the rest of your life adopting a child whose mother wants her back? That's why the ending didn't surprise me at all.

The author definitely knows how to write about terrible parents as I slowly liked Mrs. Richardson less and less. How you can treat one child so much worse than your other children is so weird to me. The creepy way she had to involve herself in Mia's past and basically chase them out of town. You just didn't realize how awful she was at first and the more you know her, the more you dislike her. I just wished poor Izzy would have stowed away in Mia's car.

My mother-in-law asked me if it had a happy ending and I didn't really know how to answer her! I said it's kind of open ended but really it's more that their lives are just going to continue on, and you don't know for sure how they will go. Everything wasn't wrapped up with a nice little bow, it was just like the end of a chapter, but there is no next chapter.

Favorite Quotes: "We all do things we regret now and then. You just have to carry them with you."

"To a parent, your child wasn't just a person: your child was a place, a kind of Narnia, a vast eternal place where the present you were living and the past you remembered and the future you longed for all at the same time. You could see it every time you looked at her: layered in her face was the baby she'd been and the child she'd become and the adult she would grow up to be, and you saw them all simultaneously, like a 3-D image. It made your head spin. It was a place you could take refuge, if you knew how to get in. And each time you left it, each time your child passed out of your sight, you feared you might never be able to return to that place again."

"Parents, she thought, learned to survive touching their children less and less."

"One had followed the rules and one had not. But the problem with rules was that they implied a right way and a wrong way to do things. When, in fact, most of the time they were simply ways, none of them quite wrong, or quite right, and nothing to tell you for sure what side of the line you stood on."

Rating: 5/5 I really liked this book, especially the writing and the way the story is told.

AFTER THE END

By: Amy Plum

Plot: A seventeen year old girl Juneau, is living in Alaska after WWIII (and the end of the world basically) when her whole clan is kidnapped. She sets off to save them only to realize that there was no WWIII and she's been lied to her whole life. 

Thoughts: I really liked the premise of the story and thought it was an interesting take on all the dystopian YA books that have been floating around for awhile now. My main issue was with the writing. The risk with young adult books is that sometimes it feels like the author dumbs down their writing just because they are geared towards a younger audience. They have the character's do stupid stuff just to move the plot forward and it's just frustrating to read. 

I have no idea what the point of reading from Mile's point of view was. I think the story would be infinitely better if it had just been from Juneau's point of view. It was like he was just there to reiterate how "different" she was and that's just sloppy writing. We get it already. You know, show not tell. I mean I can't get over how much better I think the story would have been if Mile's POV was not included and the reader was kept in the dark about his motives. Whatever. 

Rating: 2/5 It was okay. With better writing choices I think it could have been really good. 

WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING

By: Delia Owens

Plot: About a young girl who is abandoned by her family and grows up on the marsh, becoming the 'Marsh Girl'. Major spoilers ahead! (And lots of ranting.)

Thoughts: I did enjoy reading this book. It had major Before We were Yours vibes to me. There were definite similarities between the Marsh people and the river folk. Although I did enjoy it and sure it ended happily enough, I have MAJOR qualms with this book. First off, it baffles me how Kya was ever able to stay on her own in the first place. How does a whole freaking town, realize that a CHILD is basically abandoned and living on her own and no one ever does anything?? I mean Jumpin' did the most out of anyone but it's not like his family could take her in. There's no way she could have ran away from them forever if they had just tried! But they didn't try.

Also, her mom. Ugh. I mean I get why she left. If you are that broken and you can't even take care of yourself, how can you take care of five kids? She was in a horrible situation and she just escaped the only way she could. I get that part. I do not understand, however, that she stayed away. The whole, I think I left my kids behind, maybe I'll send my drunken, abusive (ex?) husband a letter and kindly ask for them back? No! Just no. You go and get your children back! You don't ask permission! It was implied that her family had money, and you mean to tell me they would never once have consult a lawyer and seen what could be done? Of course, he was going to be pissed and say no, when all you do is write a lame letter. Maybe she would have tried harder to go back if she had left those stupid fake alligator boots behind instead. You left your children with a man you couldn't stand to live with yourself. You think your kids are going to fair any better? I mean REALLY?? Okay rant over.

I was annoyed by the whole trial, because it felt like it was just a disaster waiting to happen. Then of course I couldn't stop reading once I got to the trial. I kept thinking maybe it was Jumpin' or Tate that had killed Chase, but I knew they wouldn't let her take the fall for them, if either one of them had done it. I definitely wasn't sad to see Chase go. I hated Chase the moment he said how cool it was that she didn't have parents to deal with. What a dumb thing to say.

Is it terrible that once I found out that it was her I liked the book even more? I'm glad she got her revenge and then was able to happily live the rest of her life on the marsh. It made sense because she knew she couldn't live in fear of him for the rest of her life and that he would never let it go. Of course she would have taken the necklace too, because he was just being a d-word continuing to wear it that whole time anyway, and I'm sure it just pissed her off. The fact that she did get away with it though was incredible. It seemed like the author wanted it to feel like the town was atoning for their previous prejudices and wrong doings, but they still left a freaking child to raise herself and no one stepped in and that's still messed up! I just can't get over that part.

Rating: 4/5 I liked it, especially that ending.

THE PRINCESS BRIDE

By: William Goldman

Plot: The book describes itself best: "Fencing. Fighting. Torture. Poison. True love. Hate. Revenge. Giants. Hunters. Bad men. Good men. Beautifulest ladies. Snakes. Spiders. Beasts of all natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave men. Coward men. Strongest men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passion. Miracles."

Thoughts: I was in seventh grade when I first got this book for Christmas. I had it in my English class to start reading it and Daniel Smith (one of the smartest kids in our grade) saw that I had it. I remember he picked it up, looked at it, and then proceeded to tell me that I had an abridged copy. And I believed him! For YEARS! YEARS! Honestly for many, many years I thought that there was some longer version out there with a bunch of pages about women packing. Honestly I was kinda bummed about it because who wants to read the abridged version of a book? I don't even remember how long ago it was that I read something about the book and realized I'd been tricked! I never even figured it out myself! Well played Daniel Smith, well played.

Rereading the book now, 15+ years later, and actually getting the book, I loved it. I enjoyed it way more now, than when I read it in seventh grade. The movie is obviously amazing and a classic, but the book is just as amazing. My favorite parts were probably the ones that weren't included in the movie. I loved Fezzik and Indigo's backstories and childhoods. I also loved them actually traveling through the Zoo of Death, one of the main things not in the movie, and there aren't many. And of course all of Goldman's interjections. I liked all the weird stuff he put in and I'm still mad about the reunion scene. Can I still send a postcard to that address? I also liked reading about his round son and how he waddled around.

Favorite Quotes: "Life isn't fair, it's just fairer than death, that's all."

"Life is pain. Anyone who says otherwise is selling something."

Rating: 5/5 It's almost like he's making fun of all the classic love stories, while writing one at the same time.