Saturday, December 7, 2024

Student Saturday: If He Had Been With Me by Laura Nowlin

 


Genre: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction

Student Reviewer:  Sofia L.

Two best friends that both had feelings for each other, and they never said anything about it. They have known each other since they were little. Finny is quiet and does not share his feelings. Autum is the same, but she is a little more outgoing. They were both in relationships with other people. Autum and Finny live in Ferguson, Missouri, they are next door neighbors, their moms are best friends and always together so that means that Autum and Finny are always together, "The Mothers" as Autum calls them go on a vacation. Will Finny and Autum find out how they feel about each other, or will it be too late? 


Sunday, December 1, 2024

A Christmas Wish by Engy Neville

 



Genre: Adult, Romance

Source:  I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own

Romance novels are not usually my go to genre. I have certain requirements. I don’t want a mushy, gushy romance.  There has to be other conflicts that must be solved for me to truly enjoy it. This is my first book by this author and will not be my last. As a teacher of teens,  I have been reading middle grade and young adult books for so long that I had put a lot of adult books on the back burner.

Amy is a young woman who moved from California to take another job, her dream job in New York. She left behind a cheating boyfriend and a job where her boss was out to get her. On a vacation to the Hamptons with  her best friend from California and her new best friend from New York, she meets Richie, a gorgeous looking man. He seems to have fallen head over heals in love with her. She meets his family at Thanksgiving and loves them.  Then things begin to fall apart. Her former boss is back in her life in New York. They have the same position. She is getting ready to spend Christmas with her boyfriend and his family. It seems that things are going downhill fast.

Things aren’t always what they seem to be.  There are many things we learn as we read the book that adds quite a bit of tension to this story. That is what made me really enjoy this book.  I will stop at this point because I don’t want to give anything away. I will say, if you love a feel good romance or you are like me, sitting on the fence when it comes to romance novels, then you most definitely need to read this one.


Saturday, November 30, 2024

Student Saturday: The Do Over by Lynn Painter

 




 

Genre: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction
Student Reviewer: Livi G.

The Do-Over was an overall enthralling rom-com that had many comical elements involved in the plotline yet serious topics that were artistically and beautifully executed throughout the book. This novel follows the talented, smart, goal-oriented, people-pleasing Emilie and her everyday life as the girlfriend of Josh (who is also very smart and talented), and what happens when she is stuck in a time loop of the day when he cheats on her on Valentine’s Day. With the repeating tragedy, Emilie tries with all her might to prevent this conflict from occurring throughout the days. While doing so, she always runs into her chemistry lab partner, Nick, in the mornings when they keep getting into car accidents with each other or just randomly seeing each other. Nick and Emilie don’t really hit it off and Nick always seems to have a hatred towards Valentine’s Day, which Emilie doesn’t really know why. She later finds the answer to her question when she decides to rebel for a day. She thinks she has unlimited days to waste with being whoever she wants to be for 24 hours at a time. She calls this the DONC (Day of No Consequences). On the DONC, Emilie drags Nick out of class, and they travel the many miles of Downtown, doing whatever they please. An unbreakable bond between the two of them forms and they both end up catching feelings for each other, not wanting the day to end. Sadly, when the day does end and February 15th rolls into play, Emilie must pay the consequences of all the trouble she created the day before, while realizing that everything she did mattered, and the time-loop will never exist again.

This book really shows readers that conforming to everyone else’s standards, expectations and “bending over backwards” for everyone will not make you happy or be the person you truly want to be. If I were Emilie, I would tell myself that it’s okay if someone disagrees with what I do or what I say- I'm my own person with my own opinions, and that’s how it will always be. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves YA romance books and who just needs a quick read. In conclusion, Lynn Painter continues to impress me with her writing abilities and how she so beautifully puts stories together that will have the reader hooked on the book, not being able to put it down. This book reminded me a lot of another one of Lynn’s books, Better Than the Movies, with how the two characters grow as people and in loving each other, and I look forward to reading more of her novels.