Title: The Good Sister
Author: Jamie Kain (Twitter)
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Publish Date: October 7, 2014
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Pages: 304
Source: Publisher

The Kinsey sisters live in an unconventional world. Their parents are former flower-children who still don’t believe in rules. Their small, Northern California town is filled with free spirits and damaged souls seeking refuge from the real world. Without the anchor of authority, the three girls are adrift and have only each other to rely on.

Rachel is wild. Asha is lost. Sarah, the good sister, is the glue that holds them together. But the forces of a mysterious fate have taken Sarah’s life in a sudden and puzzling accident, sending her already fractured family into a tailspin of grief and confusion. Asha has questions. Rachel has secrets. And Sarah, waking up in the afterlife, must piece together how she got there.

What I love about a good contemporary novel is that it can often transcend the genre and really speak to fans of all genres. It's a tricky feat balancing those abilities and still managing to present a cohesive storyline though, so I'm always a bit wary when a novel surfaces and suggests that it might do just that. The Good Sister by Jamie Kain is a novel that took me by surprise in a few ways - not the least of which is the fact that it looked like an adult novel to me before I read the premise. I was also surprised to see a novel written in the vein of Jodi Picoult for the younger lot. Offering readers a true taste of contemporary - full of life, love, drama and family - it's the type of book that will linger with you.

Multiple points of view are often quite tricky for me, in large part because they offer a bunch of little tastes but never seem to fulfill me entirely. The Good Sister ups the ante, giving us three distinct points of view - one for each of the sisters. Naturally, I was concerned that this would make the story less cohesive and more jumbled. I was surprised, however, to find that it actually knit the seams of the story together very nicely, giving us a glimpse into the minds of Rachel, Asha and Sarah. We seem to work through the story in a less-than-chronological order at times, and we're able to see their cohesive family unit splinter and fragment apart, all the while understanding the ties that bind and those that separate them in the end. It's powerful, emotional and tragic in the most beautiful of ways. 

I think what kept me riveted throughout the novel though was just how dysfunctional the family was. At times, I wanted to shake their mother out of her flower-child demeanor to see just how broken her living daughters were. I wanted their absent father to understand how his cold veneer hardened their broken hearts and helped shatter their family unit. The Good Sister made me uncomfortable…plain and simple. It's like watching a train wreck before your eyes and feeling like you're simply a casual bystander. The reason it managed to captivate me though is the fact that these three girls - all so vastly different - longed for one thing. They wanted peace, and that peace is hard to come by.

There is a mystery element to The Good Sister that's sort of over-arching throughout the plot, and it's woven nicely through the drama and through each sister's perspective. I worried it might distract me, but it actually served to enhance the story in the end and, despite the fact that these Rachel and Asha broke my heart with their broken selves, I was invested from start to finish. The only flaw to the story that I found is that, while it has a conclusive ending, I think it could have been enhanced upon, and I still wanted more. In the end though, I give it a definitive 4 out of 5, and I highly recommend it to all fans of YA, especially those who enjoy contemporary fiction.

I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.

Title: How to Fall
Author: Jane Casey (Twitter)
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Publish Date: August 26, 2014
Genre: YA, Mystery
Pages: 352
Source: Publisher

Sixteen-year-old Jess Tennant has never met any of her relatives, until her mom suddenly drags her out of London to spend the summer in the tiny English town where her family’s from. Her mom’s decision is surprising, but even more surprising is the town’s reaction to Jess. Everywhere she goes, people look at her like they’ve seen a ghost. In a way, they have—she looks just like her cousin Freya, who died shortly before Jess came to town.

Jess immediately feels a strange connection to Freya, whom she never got to meet alive. But the more Jess learns about the secrets Freya was keeping while she was alive, the more suspicious Freya’s death starts to look. One thing is for sure: this will be anything but the safe, boring summer in the country Jess was expecting.

There's nothing quite like a good mystery to make your blood curdle and have you longing to leave the lights on long after dark. I think that's why I'm so partial to mysteries. They linger with you long after you close the book on the last page, begging you all the while to scour it again for one more clue you might have missed, or one more detail that led to that final, fateful outcome. How to Fall by Jane Casey is the type of mystery and thriller that will keep you guessing until the very end, hoping that you might very well lose yourself along the way, as well.

How to Fall gives readers a fantastic setting, which was one of the true highlights of the novel for me. Ms. Casey manages to bring the English countyside alive through the careful details of the town, its inhabitants, the weather and all those eccentricities that set it apart from other potential settings. The beauty of these descriptions is, though the setting is altogether unfamiliar to me, it's a rather closed scene, in which we feel as though we grow to know and empathize with the town's inhabitants, as well as their daily lives and routines. Through that, we better understand our protagonist and the characters, which is a truly remarkable feat - and one I don't see that often in other such novels.

The characters within How to Fall presented us with fairly vast character map - giving us a little bit of everything within the closed off setting. Jess, our protagonist, was a bit of a double-edged sword for me. Ms. Casey takes great care in calling attention to the differences between Freya and Jess, despite their outward similarities. Unfortunately, at times, I felt that this made Jess's persona a bit cloying and smothering. Freya is described as a quiet, artistic girl with a more patient and calm demeanor. Jess is the exact opposite, often bringing a bit of a bold, hard-edged demeanor to the story. It was a pretty thick shell that made it fairly difficult to actually access her true persona and personality. Our other characters such as Darcy and Natasha, while serving their purposes well, often felt more like tropes than real people, which unfortunately drew me out of the story at critical times.

There was a quiet simplicity to the actual mystery of How to Fall, and I appreciated that Ms. Casey took great care in setting the scene of Freya's untimely demise from page one. While it wasn't the most earth-shattering mystery, it still had me guessing at key moments, and that's often good enough for me. I think that the only thing that detracted from my enjoyment of the actual mystery was Jess's detective nature. She's presented as an incredibly intelligent and likable character, but many of her actions and motives made her seem rather a juvenile detective that was in far over her head.

Overall, I found How to Fall to be an enjoyable mystery - though perhaps a lighter mystery than those I'm particularly partial to. It's not a perfect story, but Ms. Casey never fails to impress with her writing style, and the setting, itself, is reason enough to pick up this novel. I give it a 3.5 out of 5, and I definitely recommend it to fans of YA, especially those who enjoy contemporary stories and light mysteries.

I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.

Title: Fall for Anything
Author: Courtney Summers (Twitter)
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Publish Date: December 21, 2010
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Pages: 230
Source: Personal Copy

When Eddie Reeves’s father commits suicide her life is consumed by the nagging question of why? Why when he was a legendary photographer and a brilliant teacher? Why when he seemed to find inspiration in everything he saw? And, most important, why when he had a daughter who loved him more than anyone else in the world? When she meets Culler Evans, a former student of her father’s and a photographer himself, an instant and dangerous attraction begins.

Culler seems to know more about her father than she does and could possibly hold the key to the mystery surrounding his death. But Eddie’s vulnerability has weakened her and Culler Evans is getting too close. Her need for the truth keeps her hanging on...but are some questions better left unanswered?

Eddie is devastated. The one person whom she loved above all else in life took his own life, and she's now without a father and desperate for answers. She needs some sort of meaning to the nonsensical madness of his suicide, and she'll do just about anything to find out why. As her mother spirals deeper into depression, a nosy neighbor moves in to "help" and Eddie's life gets more and more confusing, she wants answers. Culler might be able to help her piece the clues together, but does she really want to know the reason why?

In typical Courtney Summers fashion, Fall for Anything is, in a nutshell, a hard, thought-provoking and powerful novel. Never shying away from the darkness of the story itself, the book spirals into the cold, bleak darkness that we watch our main character surrounded by since her father's death. We're offered hundreds of emotions to choose from, and we're bathed in grief and loss from the start, invited on a powerful and gut-wrenching journey to understand the meaning why the man who, for all intents and purposes had it all, would kill himself in a single, desperate act. This novel will hit you fast and hard, and ask you to experience the journey to peace with Eddie.

I don't know why I put off reading Fall for Anything for so long. I've read a couple other titles by the author, and I've never been disappointed. Summers' books never shy away from the shadows and darkness of human grief and anger. Rather, they welcome it in full force, and this book was no exception. Eddie was an extremely believable main character. She's a teenage girl that's been absolutely obliterated by the loss of her father, and she's forced to endure Beth telling her how to grieve and her mother's inability to cope at all. The beauty of her character, too, is that she's not censored. She's broken, hostile, lashing out and grieving in her own way. It's tragically beautiful to see this extremely personal process laid out so very plainly on the pages. Culler plays a perfect role in the novel, too. Though his appearance in the novel made me cringe a bit at times, and I hesitated to trust his intentions, I could understand the connection between Eddie and Culler. She wanted answers and a diversion. He offered what seemed like the former and definitely the latter. In all honesty, the one thing I really wanted more of was Milo. There was a refreshing vibe from him that sparked a light in Eddie and Culler did not. Honestly though, I could lay out the plot points of Fall for Anything and tell you nothing though. The strength and power of the novel lies in the message, which subtly fuels the plot throughout. It's raw, challenging and gritty, and it never ever tries to mask the fact that grief is subjective, suicide is horrific not only for the life lost but for those left behind and it creates a void that can never be filled. Full disclaimer - shortly before I was born, my cousin took her own life, and though I never met her, I know that void was never filled in my Aunt and Uncle - or anyone for that matter. And that, my friends, is why I was able to reconcile myself with the somewhat open ending of the novel. At the end of the day, we'll never really know why unless that person explicitly informs everyone of their motives before committing the act. But, in the end, coping with a suicide isn't about finding the answers in the end. It's simply about coming to terms with the loss and learning to live with it. In that way, Fall for Anything completely and utterly succeeds.

Overall, I'm not at all surprised to say that I absolutely loved Fall for Anything (well, as much as you can love a book like this). It's not an easy read, but it's definitely an important one. I give it a 4.5 out of 5, and I highly recommend it all fans of YA, especially those who like darker contemporary fiction.

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill from Breaking the Spine, and specifically spotlights upcoming novels we can't wait to read. As always, there are some amazing upcoming books, but this week I'm particularly excited for...

Title: The Haven
Author: Carol Lynch Williams
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Publish Date: April 9, 2014
Genre: YA, Dystopian
Pages: 240

For the teens at The Haven, the outside world, just beyond the towering stone wall that surrounds the premises, is a dangerous unknown. It has always been this way, ever since the hospital was established in the year 2020. But The Haven is more than just a hospital; it is their home. It is all they know. Everything is strictly monitored: education, exercise, food, and rest. The rules must be followed to keep the children healthy, to help control the Disease that has cast them as Terminals, the Disease that claims limbs and lungs—and memories.

But Shiloh is different; she remembers everything. Gideon is different, too. He dreams of a cure, of rebellion against the status quo. What if everything they’ve been told is a lie? What if The Haven is not the safe place it claims to be? And what will happen if Shiloh starts asking dangerous questions?

Guys, it's been a while since I've read a really good dystopian, and those of you that know me...know that I really, really love dystopian books, so I've kind of been going through withdrawals. I spotted this bad boy based on the cover, and the walls kind of reminded me of the prison from The Walking Dead so, naturally, I was sold. I know. I'm such a cover slut. The point is, The Haven sounds pretty dang dark, and I really hope that it lives up to the premise because, let's be honest, who doesn't want a really good dystopian to dominate the genre? What do you think, and what are you waiting on this week?

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill from Breaking the Spine, and specifically spotlights upcoming novels we can't wait to read. As always, there are some amazing upcoming books, but this week I'm particularly excited for...

Title: This Is Not a Test
Author: Courtney Summers
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Publish Date: June 19, 2012
Genre: YA, Dystopian
Pages: Unknown

It’s the end of the world. Six students have taken cover in Cortege High but shelter is little comfort when the dead outside won’t stop pounding on the doors. One bite is all it takes to kill a person and bring them back as a monstrous version of their former self. To Sloane Price, that doesn’t sound so bad. Six months ago, her world collapsed and since then, she’s failed to find a reason to keep going. Now seems like the perfect time to give up.

As Sloane eagerly waits for the barricades to fall, she’s forced to witness the apocalypse through the eyes of five people who actually want to live. But as the days crawl by, everyone’s motivations to survive begin to change in startling ways and soon the group’s fate is determined less and less by what’s happening outside and more and more by the unpredictable and violent bids for life–and death–inside.

When everything is gone, what do you hold on to?

For those who don't really know me and my blog's penchant for the dark and twisty, I should probably inform you that A) I love zombies, B) I like dark stories and C) The more tension and life/death situations, the better. It sounds as though This Is Not a Test has the best of all of my favourites. AND it has a crazy, gorgeous cover (with blood splatters?!) Plus, the author is an incredibly powerful writer, so I'm interested to see how this plays out. I'm sensing a touch of The Walking Dead. This excites me immensely. What do you think, and what are you waiting on this week?

Title: Dark Mirror
Author: M.J. Putney
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Published: March 1, 2011
Genre: YA, Historical
Pages: 306
Source: Publisher

Lady Victoria Mansfield, youngest daughter of the earl and countess of Fairmount, is destined for a charmed life. Soon she will be presented during the London season, where she can choose a mate worthy of her status.

Yet Tory has a shameful secret—a secret so powerful that, if exposed, it could strip her of her position and disgrace her family forever. Tory’s blood is tainted . . . by magic.

When a shocking accident forces Tory to demonstrate her despised skill, the secret she’s fought so hard to hide is revealed for all to see. She is immediately exiled to Lackland Abbey, a reform school for young men and women in her position. There she will learn to suppress her deplorable talents and maybe, if she’s one of the lucky ones, be able to return to society.

Tory has possessed magic her whole life, and she's fought to keep it hidden for the sake of her future and for the reputation of her family. Magic isn't a gift in her world, but rather a curse. Unwillingly forced to use it one day though, Tory is shunned to a school with others like herself where she will, hopefully, be taught to control it and learn to manage her powers so she can rejoin her family and rightful place in society. But Lackland Abbey is a whole new world of hidden doors, different times somehow within reach and world of possibilities Tory never thought possible. Should she look back, or is this her future now?

I have a bit of a penchant for histfic, and we all know that magic is a huge theme in the books I read - anything supernatural, really. Dark Mirror promised all of the above, and it most certainly didn't disappoint. Drawing me in with a tale of magic, time travel and powers beyond my imagination, Dark Mirror wove a new niche into a crammed paranormal genre. M.J. Putney created a story with a unique take on powers and blended them into a fast-paced plot full of action, twists and turns.

Dark Mirror, while definitely intriguing wasn't without its faults. Yes, it was fast-paced, but there were times when I felt it was too much so. The characters seemed to have an innate ability to do exactly what they needed/wanted to do with little or no resistance in a matter of pages. Colour me crazy, but while I like fast paced books, I also like fleshed out tension. It adds to the story. I also felt that the characters weren't too well-rounded. I "met" Tory, and I knew what drove her in a sense, but I never felt any deep emotion for her. All that said, I do like that the plot wrapped up nicely, giving closure and ending without a cliffhanger (halle-freakin-lujia). I also loved the time period - the descriptions and setting, in and of itself, was brilliant.

All in all, Dark Mirror was a fairly good read, and it was a nice start to a new series. I give it a strong 3.5 out of 5, and I'd recommend it to all fans of YA, especially those who enjoy the supernatural, paranormal and historical fiction genres.

I received this ARC free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.

Title: Miles From Ordinary
Author: Carol Lynch Williams
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Published: March 15, 2011
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Pages: 197
Source: Publisher

Thirteen-year-old Lacey wakes to a beautiful summer morning excited to begin her new job at the library, just as her mother is supposed to start work at the grocery store. Lacey hopes that her mother's ghosts have finally been laid to rest; after all, she seems so much better these days, and they really do need the money. But as the hours tick by and memories come flooding back, a day full of hope spins terrifyingly out of control....

Lacey is, on the outside, your everyday 14 year old girl. At home, however, she's the sole caregiver for her mother who is plagued every day by paranoia, delusions and bipolar tendencies. Lacey loves her mother more than anything in the world, but she relishes the time away from her mother - those little moments where she can be herself and be a teenager. She is excited for a summer full of the little joys in life. She wants sleepovers, trips to the library and an escape from her mother's delusions of her dead father visiting her...but dreams are hard to hold onto when reality is far from happy.

I've yet to read anything by the author, Carol Lynch Williams, but people have sung the praises of her other book, The Chosen One. The premise of Miles From Ordinary captured me, and despite being wary of a younger MC narrating the story, I was hopeful for the best. Carol Lynch Williams nailed Lacey's voice with a raw, insightful and powerful look into a young girl's mind as she tries to hold both her life and her mother's life together. Pieced together with stark and simple prose, a haunting background and a setting that sets a scene of its own, Miles From Ordinary is one of those stories that resonates real feeling from every page.

Lacey's story begins with a bang. Her nightmares are real, and her reality is somewhat of a nightmare, too, so Miles From Ordinary captured me from the get-go. Lacey, though young, had a distinct voice and take on her life situation. She's strong, but she has a vulnerability about her that makes the sadness of the story that much more tangible. Lacey's mother, Angela, had me hating her, pitying her and loving her all at the same time. Her illness was a character of sorts, as well, spinning the struggles into every bit of Lacey's story. Gripping and realistic, Lacey's struggle to find her mother, both literally and figuratively was captivating.

I have to admit, though I was excited for Miles From Ordinary, I was still worried that it would live up to the premise. However, it definitely exceeded all my expectations. I cried for Lacey and her mother, and I felt myself rooting for a happy ending the whole time. I give this book a firm 5 out of 5, and I recommend it to all fans of YA and even adult fiction, especially those who enjoy contemporary stories.

I received this ARC free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.

In My Mailbox is an amazing weekly meme hosted by Kristi from The Story Siren that features the books we have received during the week. It's so much fun because we get to see what our fellow bloggers stumbled upon this week and add even more to our piles of books! Without further ado, this week I received the following books:

FOR REVIEW

Summer (Beautiful Dead #3) by Eden Maguire

(ARC) - (Thank you, Hodder Children's)

Six months have passed since the last Ellerton teenager died, but Darina is still traumatized by the stabbing of her own beloved Phoenix. But there's work to be done as Darina must now turn her attention to the shooting of Summer Madison - the beautiful and gifted, singer-song-writer with a heart of gold. It's been nearly a year since the random shooting in a shopping mall caused Summer's meaningless death. Summer left behind recordings of her wonderful songs and a deep sadness amongst high school friends. 

FOR REVIEW

Dark Mirror by M.J. Putney

(ARC) - (Thank you, St. Martin's Griffin)

Lady Victoria Mansfield, youngest daughter of the Earl and Countess of Fairmount, is destined for a charmed life. Soon she will be presented during the London season, where she can choose a mate worthy of her status. Yet Tory has a shameful secret—a secret so powerful that, if exposed, it could strip her of her position and disgrace her family forever. Tory’s blood is tainted…by magic. When a shocking accident forces Tory to demonstrate her despised skill, the secret she’s fought so hard to hide is revealed for all to see. 

FOR REVIEW

Angel in My Pocket by Ilene Cooper

(ARC) - (Thank you, Feiwel & Friends)

When Bette finds an angel coin among the money collected in a carwash, she puts it in her pocket and forgets about it. But things start to change, especially once Gabby, a mysterious and kind new neighbor, moves into Bette’s Chicago building. Suddenly, Bette is able to face some big losses—her mother’s recent death; her sister’s departure for college—and move forward. And once the angel coin falls into the hands of three other kids in Bette’s class, their lives change, too. Soon, these two girls and two boys will be connected.

WON

Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles

(Thank you, Elodie!)

When Carlos Fuentes returns to America after living in Mexico for a year, he doesn’t want any part of the life his older brother, Alex, has laid out for him at a high school in Colorado . Carlos likes living his life on the edge and wants to carve his own path—just like Alex did. Then he meets Kiara Westford. She doesn’t talk much and is completely intimidated by Carlos’ wild ways. As they get to know one another, Carlos assumes Kiara thinks she’s too good for him, and refuses to admit that she might be getting to him. 

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I had a great week in books this week...even if someone did drive through the wall of my post office and right through my PO Box. Anyhoo, leave me a link to your mailboxes, and I'll be sure to check them out!