Book Review: The Duff by Kody Keplinger

AUTHOR: Kody Keplinger
PUBLISHER: Little Brown/Poppy
PAGES: 3277
STAND ALONE/SERIES:stand alone
SOURCE: Bought
OUTLINE:
Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn’t think she’s the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She’s also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her “the Duff,” she throws her Coke in his face. 

But things aren’t so great at home right now, and Bianca is desperate for a distraction. She ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him.

Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn’t such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she’s falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.

MY THOUGHTS

I'm not gonna lie the only reason I decided to retry reading this book is because of the movie coming out. The first time I tried to read it I only got 80 pages in. It didn't have enough to hold my attention, and to be honest it still didn't have anything. However, I did  finish it this time because I hate giving up on books, and I want to see how the movie and book differ if at all.

Never Cry Werewolf Review

AUTHOR: Heather Davis

PUBLISHER: Harperteen
PAGES: 212
SERIES/STAND ALONE: Stand alone as far as I know

OUTLINE:
Okay, so maybe Shelby has made a few mistakes with boys lately. But her stepmother totally overreacts when she packs Shelby off to brat camp. Suddenly, it’s good-bye, prom dress; hello, hiking boots.
Things start looking up, though, when Shelby meets fellow camper (and son of a rock star!) Austin Bridges III. But soon she realizes there’s more to Austin than crush material—his family has a dark secret, and he wants Shelby’s help guarding it. . . .





STARTED: 2-10-11
FINISHED: 2-11-11

MY THOUGHTS:
I was really excited to read this one because it was dealing with werewolves, and lets face it I'm all about the Paranormal creatures. :) I was sadly disappointed though. Don't get me wrong I liked the book, and the storyline. The whole brat camp thing I don't recall reading anything like it, but the whole girl meets mysterious boy just didn't work for me. I think in order for that whole concept to work you have to like the characters. You have to want to invest your time in them. You have to want to know how it's going to undfold.   At first I did want to know about Shelby and Austin. Just how was this relationship going to blossom, and was it going to become something. How are these characters going to grow from being with each other? A rich boy from a family of rockstars and a girl whose dad works in cosmetics. Shelby comes from a home where her step-mom pretty much has a say so in whatever, and what she says goes. *Nice backbone dad* In a way I know how she feels. I had a step-mom who was kind of like that if she thought something sounded good for me then by all means it must be. Still I think that was pretty much the extent of me being able to connect with the character. I think maybe the only thing in my opinion that connected the two characters together was the whole not having a mom. Their relationship seemed rushed to me. *shrugs*

I will give the author this though there were a few statements made by characters that I truely loved, and thought those are so true. Ones that will definitely stay in my mind. Ones that made me think. I have those highlighted in purple below. :)

To be honest you pretty much knew who the werewolf was going to be before the "big secret" came out. Which isn't always a bad thing I guess. I mean you knew Edward and them were vampires. Sorry not my point. 

I'm going to say this the ending definitely left me wondering what's going to happen now. So I'm not sure if there's suppose to be another book coming out, or maybe it was left that way just in case. I do know that if it had a second book I would probably read it for a few reasons: 1. I want to see what might become of the character (All characters have room to grow and become likable) 2. I can't just leave a series unfinished. 3. Some books get better as the series/story progresses. :)


QUOTES:
-It wasn't bad for me---I'd camped in worse conditions up in northern Wisconsin, but a Brit, an out-of -shape old guy, and a wuss really would be bear bait. (Shelby)

-Mr. Winters didn't look like he could find his way out of a 7-eleven. I probably had better sense of direction than that old coot. (Shelby)

-I was going to literally pee in my pants and die. Or be eaten---which is totally worse. (Shelby)

-Oh Crap! Are we on fire? (Sara)
She threw herself over the side of her top bunk, managing to kick me in the head on the way down. Ahh! Watch it Sara! (Shelby)
Why don't they let us sleep? (Ariel)
Don't ask me. I probably have brain damage now. (Shelby)

-Lost. Yeah, right. Why do we always say lost when we mean people died on us?  Mom was not lost. And I spent the last three years trying hard not to lose myself. That's what really happens when people die---the family left behind loses a part of themselves. A tiny piece. A tiny piece you never get back. (Shelby)

-Maybe is never a sure thing.

-You're secrets are safe with me. I mean, unless you're planning to run off and scream -insert his secret here- at this very moment. (Austin)

-You know when something bad happens and you don't get a chance to get those feelings out, you delay the pain, but you don't get rid of it. It stays inside you, taking up space. (Mr. Winters)

-Adults don't always get everything right. So my question is, if they aren't  always right, then how can we be the ones who're getting everything wrong? Maybe both sides make choices that don't  turn out to be the smartest. But if you're afraid to make mistakes, you can't learn right? (Shelby)

-My worst day with you is better than one spent alone. (Austin)

2.5 OF 5 STARS
I would have made it 3 stars, but it's not quite to the point of I would read it again. I think the ending, and the little passages I picked out are the only things I truely liked. :(
Still everyone is different so try it.

Ashley

Plan B Review

AUTHOR: Charnan Simon
PUBLISHER: Lerner Publishing Group
PUBLISH DATE: March 1, 2011
PAGES: 106
SERIES/STAND ALONE: Stand alone (Part of a high school series though about different students, I believe)
SOURCE: Netgalley


OUTLINE: Lucy has her life planned out: she'll graduate and then join her boyfriend, Luke, at college in Austin. She'll become a Spanish teacher and of course they'll get married. So there's no reason to wait, right? They try to be careful. But then Lucy gets pregnant. Now, none of Lucy's options are part of her picture-perfect plan. Together, she and Luke will have to make the most difficult decision of their lives.

STARTED: 1-11-11
FINISHED: 1-11-11

THOUGHTS:
"This is intriguing to me because I work at a pharmacy and one of our drugs is called Plan B, and well I won't say what it's for you can look it up, but my mind set went straight to that as being what the story might be about so I guess I'll find out. "
This was my first thought when I saw this as a book I could get from Netgalley. So of course I requested to read it, and now that I have I can say that on some level I guess that is what the book is about, but more then that. You could also gather from reading it that it might be about having to make choices in your life. Hints-the Plan A..Plan B sort of thing. (It also helps that the outline tells you it too. :) )

I read this in a few hours because it is such a small book. I liked the idea behind the book, but then again there's probably quite a few that are like it out there somewhere. (I'll have to do some research). It follows the MC Lucy in kind of a day to day life with her friends, mom, and boyfriend. After awhile it gets kind of reptitive. I mean how much school, work, home, boyfriend, and friends can you take? You eventually know that things are going to happen between certain characters, but until then..nothing really. The characters weren't to bad they seemed like they could be normal people, but they didn't have that something to make me feel connected to them. I did like Lucy's little obession with making lists though it gave her some kind of quirk. Then there was her boyfriend he was pretty much as generic as they come. Why are they always popular and atheletic? (Sorry) Then you had her friends Trez and Cate one who had and on/off again relationship and the other who didn't have one at all. Just your regular type friends, and for her to take awhile to tell them her secrets. I don't know I mean if they're your friends why hide it from them. It was a typical family too just her and her mother. (No father because he left while her mother was pregnant with her) Does it count that I liked a few of the characters names? They were different like-Trez (It makes me think of my sleeping med Trazadone. I call it Traz. Thought I'd add that tid-bit.) You know you haven't seen that kind of name before. The little girls name that came for dance lessons Tierney. I thought was cute.

I wasn't happy with the ending either because it did just that it ended leaving me with more questions as to what happened with the choices Lucy and Luke made then answers. How did they handle the situation? What were their friends thoughs? Parents thoughts? I guess I would have like to known more after the incident happened.

So for this one to actually standout it needed something more. Plain and simple. When I read I like to have some detail. Like I said...answers to some questions would of helped me with closure to the story of Luke and Lucy. Now I'm going to be wondering. :(

Remember this is just my opinion what doesn't work for me may very well work for you. :) So give it a shot.

QUOTES:
-Ms. OCD has another list going..on a friday afternoon. (Cate)
So what if I like list? Nobody could ruin my mood. (Lucy)
-Reason 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 are Luke (Trez)
-What are you going to take? Boyfriend 101? Summer School Sex? (Lucy)

I give it 2 1/2 stars it was almost enough that I could have liked it to read it again on an off day of reading, but not so much.

Ashley

Cut Review

AUTHOR: Patricia McCormick
PUBLISHER: Push
PAGES: 160
STAND ALONE/SERIES: Stand alone

STARTED: 12-12-10
FINISHED:

OUTLINE: Fifteen-year old Callie is so withdrawn that she's not speaking to anyone including her therapist at the residential treatment facility where her parents and doctor send her after discovering that she cuts herself. Her story unfolds primarily through dramatic monologues, gradually revealing the family turmoil that led to her self-destructive behavior. Her little brother, Sam, is ill he nearly died in her care. Since Sam's illness, Callie's mother has become so worried and fragile that she rarely leaves the house. Her father has responded to the psychological and financial stress of Sam's illness by disappearing into his work, and when that doesn't work, into his drinking.

MY THOUGHTS:
I went into this book not really knowing anything about. I saw it on the shelf at HPB, and the cover kind of drew me in, along with the title. A little weird I know, but if you knew my background when I was younger. I don't think it would be so weird. (Trust me my poetry is proof) I went into the book thinking it would be good (not in like a happy sort of way), but more of an emotional way. I wanted to like it, but it just didn't have the connection with the characters I was looking for I guess.

Callie is the main MC who gets sent to this "rehab" center called Sea Pines, or in the words of the girls that go there "Sick Minds" (I thought this was kind of cute) because of her addiction to cutting. While she's there she doesn't really seem to wanna make any attempts to get better. She doesn't talk to anybody there, not the girls, counselors, or in group. In that way it's kind of hard to follow because you have mostly her thoughts on the girls, the counselor, and others at the place. No actual interaction until almost the end. At the end like I said is when she started to actually open up to people, and started telling her story as to why she was there, and the guilt she had from her brother being sick, and her mom having to deal with her brother, and then her dad's business.

The other characters in it Debbie, the over-weight girl, Becca and Tara the anorexic girls, and Sydney and Tiffany who are addicted to drugs. Then a new girl named Amanda shows up later whose also a cutter. Honestly I couldn't make myself like any of  them except maybe Amanda when she showed up just because she seemed like she didn't care. She had that smart-ellic attitude.

So I'm kind of torn between how I feel about the book. I think it could have been more thought provoking for readers had it more details I guess you could say. This is one of those type books where it's hard to write about because I don't really know how to put it into words. It was apparently a banned book too although I didn't see the explicitness of it. That is just me though. *shrugs*

I would have to say maybe 2.5 stars.

Still remember though just because it didn't work for me. It still may work for you and it really is a short read. :)