It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han

Stand alone or series: 2nd book in a trilogy

Source: Purchased by me

Format: Print

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

Stand alone or series: First in a trilogy

Source: Purchased by me

Format: Print

Cut Both Ways by Carrie Mesrobian

Stand alone or series: Stand alone

Source: Received this from Harperteen for review

Format: ARC (Comes out 9/1/15)

What You Left Behind by Jessica Verdi

Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone

Source: Received from Sourcebooks for review

Format: ARC (Comes out 8/4/15)

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Summary

It’s all Ryden’s fault. If he hadn’t gotten Meg pregnant, she would have never stopped her chemo treatments and would still be alive. Instead, he’s failing fatherhood one dirty diaper at a time. And it’s not like he’s had time to grieve while struggling to care for their infant daughter, start his senior year, and earn the soccer scholarship he needs to go to college.

The one person who makes Ryden feel like his old self is Joni. She’s fun and energetic—and doesn’t know he has a baby. But the more time they spend together, the harder it becomes to keep his two worlds separate. Finding one of Meg’s journals only stirs up old emotions, and Ryden’s convinced Meg left other notebooks for him to find, some message to help his new life make sense. But how is he going to have a future if he can’t let go of the past?

Review

FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from Sourcebooks for review. As always, all opinions are mine.

 One of the things I liked about What You Left Behind is that right from the start I realized that this book isn't like the others in the "teen pregnancy" genre. Usually books about teenage pregnancy follow a teenage girl, who gets pregnant and then has to cope with it throughout the story. Well, this book is nothing like that.

Another thing I liked was how addictive my reading experience was while reading this book. Prior to reading this, I was in a reading slump. For two weeks I would pick up a book, not being able to concentrate on it then I would put it down. But as soon as I opened my package I started this book and I didn't put it down for the three hours it took me to finish it.

One of the things that really bothered me was the main character Ryden. He was selfish, stupid and self absorbed. He would whine to his mom about not being able to go soccer practice because he was irresponsible and became a father even before he took his SAT's.  

Besides the fact that I hated Ryden, overall I really enjoyed this book. And I am sure I will be buying a finished copy when it is released August 4th 2015.

Page Count: 368 Pages

Starred Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/What-Left-Behind-Jessica-Verdi

This is not a sponsored review unless explicitly stated. All opinions expressed in this review belong to me and all products were purchased by me unless otherwise stated. All opinions are my own.

Point of Retreat by Colleen Hoover

Stand Alone or Series: First book in a planned trilogy

Source: Public Library

Format: Print

Summary

Layken and Will have managed to overcome the obstacles that threatened to destroy their love, proving that they are destined for one another. What they are about to learn, however, is that the things that have brought them together may be the very things that ruin their connection forever...

Layken is left second-guessing the relationship whilst Will is jumping over hurdles to prove his love for her. What the young lovers discover about themselves along this journey may change their entire world, and the lives of those who depend upon them the most... 

Review

If you've read my past review for Slammed (which will be linked below) you know that I absolutely loved it. When I finished Slammed I was surprised to learn that there was a sequel and I was a little hesitant. I was hesitant because Slammed worked so well as a stand alone and I thought that a sequel would just drag it on. And boy am I glad I was wrong.

I loved all of it. I loved the relationships, poetry, and the break-up. 

I think Kiersten is my favorite character in this book. She is just so smart and witty and brutally honest.   

Even though the break-up broke my heart and made me so sad I'm glad Hoover put it in this book because it shows that Layken and Will aren't a perfect couple and I think that a lot of people, especially teens need to read about that because when they read a lot of other books that have "perfect" relationships, they grow up and expect their partner to be perfect when no relationship is perfect and those types of books put the wrong idea into their heads.

Point of Retreat is amazing just like Hoover's other books. I have so much love for this book, for Layken, Will, Kiersten, Eddie and the other characters who's names I don't remember (I read a lot of books it's hard to remember anything about them).

I'm going to end this review with some of my favorite quotes from Point of Retreat: 

"A guy can tell a girl he's in love with her until he's blue in the face. Words don't mean anything to a woman when her head's full of doubt. You have to show her."

“If I were a carpenter, I would build you a window to my soul. But I would leave that window shut and locked, so that every time you tried to look through it all you would see is your own reflection. You would see that my soul is a reflection of you.” 

“My heart pounds against my chest. Not because I'm nervous. Not even because I want her worse that I've ever wanted her before. It's pounding against my chest because I realize I've never been so sure about the rest of my life than I am in this moment. This girl is the rest of my life.” 

“Okay. Would you rather I looked like Hugh Jackman or George Clooney?” 
“Johnny Depp,” she says. 

She answers a little too fast for my comfort. “What the hell, Lake? You’re supposed to say Will! You’re supposed to say you want me to look like me!” 

“But you weren't one of the options,” she says. 

“Neither was Johnny Depp!” 

Page Count: 215 pages

Starred Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Publisher: Atria Books

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Point-Retreat

Goodreads status updates

marked as:	to-read
	marked as:	currently-reading
	page 141		46.0%	"About half way through and loving it! I think more than Slammed!"
	page 141		46.0%	"Wait.How.What?"

                marked as: read

This is not a sponsored review unless explicitly stated. All opinions expressed in this review belong to me and all products were purchased by me unless otherwise stated. All opinions are my own.

The Lightning thief by Rick Riordian

Stand Alone or Series: First book in a five book series

Source: I received this as a gift from a friend

Format: Print

Summary

Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can't seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse-Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him. When Percy's mom finds out, she knows it's time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he go to the one place he'll be safe. She sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea. Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends -- one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena -- Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the gates of the Underworld (located in a recording studio in Hollywood) and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods. 

Review

Most people know by now that the Percy Jackson and the Olympians is one of the most popular children's series of all time. And I've always wanted to start this series after learning that there was a book after I saw the horrible movie back in 2010. 

Even though the movie was horrible I heard that the book was really great and very well loved by many. In the past I've tried to read it but never finished the book. I think this is partly because it's middle grade (I don't really like middle grade, don't have anything against it, I just don't really enjoy it) and that it contains a lot of Greek mythology which I don't really understand. 

But this month I buckled down and committed myself to reading it and I'm glad I did. 

Something I really enjoyed about this book was the characters. I loved how they wasn't just cliche characters. They were funny, kick-butt, and really quirky. 

If you are a fan of Fantasy, quirky characters and a lot of sarcastic humor then I recommend this book to you.

Page count: 337 pages

Starred Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Publisher: Disney Hyperion Books

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Lightning-Thief

	marked as:	to-read
	marked as:	currently-reading
	page 118		31.0%	"I DNF'd this book a couple of months ago. I think it was due to all the hype and i just wasnt enjoying it.But today i got the whole series and i tried picking this up again and i am actually really enjoying it"
	page 203		53.0%	"Okay...i think im loving this"
	marked as:	read

This is not a sponsored review unless explicitly stated. All opinions expressed in this review belong to me and all products were purchased by me unless otherwise stated. All opinions are my own.

  

Impulse by Ellen Hopkins

Stand Alone or Series: First book in a planned duology

Source: Purchased by me

Format: Print and Audio book