Contempo-May Reading List: The Ultimate YA Road Trips

In honour of the AWWsome Saving June by Hannah Harrington (read my review HERE!), I would like to present to you some further reading if road trips are your thang. Just remember, the point of a road trip isn't where you're going, it's how you get there...

Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick by Joe Schreiber

Let’s start off this list with something entirely unconventional, because in this book, we’re not talking about a cross-country journey of self-discovery, but a trip to NYC in your dad’s posh car so that the foreign exchange student you thought was really dull can go and murder a load of people. Yeah. You heard that right. Plus there’s a teeny bit of self-discovery too.

Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Sweet, romantic and lovely, the plot may be entirely inevitable from the outside, but I dare you not to fall in love with these charming, messed up characters. Plus added bonus, the book comes with a soundtrack (my particular fave is playlist 4) and scrapbook pages! Pretty much the perfect Summer read.

Two Way Street by Lauren Barnholdt

Admission time - this one I haven’t read yet but I do own it and plan to read it on a lazy Summer afternoon. I promise. I mean, look at this cover: road trip, a complicated break-up and the hope of a romantic make-up. Because it is a universal truth that if you go on a road trip with a boy, you will end up totally romantically involved. Fact. 

Paper Towns by John Green

This book features my favourite road trip EVER. It’s hilarious, heart-warming and does everything a road trip should do: fill you with hope and inspiration. The actual road trip only takes place towards the end of the novel, as Q searches for his girl-next-door dream-girl, who has gone missing and left a series of clues to help Q find her. A book about growing up, and coming to terms with being who you are. Brilliant. 

Going Bovine by Libba Bray

Let’s finish on a book that is completely bonkers, and a little left-field for Contempo-May. When Cameron gets diagnosed with Mad Cow Disease, he embarks on a hallucinatory journey for a cure, based mostly around the plot of Don Quixote. Cue stoner dwarfs, sugar-addicted angels, a Norse god in the form of a gnome, milkshakes and snow globes. Seriously, just read this book - it’s incredible. (PS. no link through my preferred online retailer I'm afraid!)

Have you got any more suggestions? I would love to hear them! Be sure to leave me a comment in the thingy below.

Hugs and high fives,

Nicole

x

Contempo-May Review: Saving June by Hannah Harrington

In One Line: Harper’s sister dies; cue road-trip of personal discovery!

Genre: YA Road Trip

The Gist:

June was the good sister, Harper was the bad. So what could have possibly driven June to suicide? Her life was perfect, wasn’t it? Feeling completely lost and unsupported by her family, Harper decides to take her sister’s ashes to California, the one place she wanted to go and never got to. In tow, Harper’s best friend Laney and the strange, brooding, hot, music obsessed guy Jake. But what is his connection to June? And is it appropriate for Harper to be having The Feelings for him? Especially when she’s meant to be all messed up and grieving?

The Cover:

Well hello there giant face! This is a nice enough cover, but the real issue I have about it is that it doesn’t say anything. Just by looking at it, and not reading the words, I would have absolutely no idea what the book is about. It has as dark thriller edge to it, the red over the nose could be the beginnings of a ninja mask? Perhaps I feel that this cover should be more romantic. If anything it’s just slightly scary. Sorry. I much prefer the australian version of the cover TBH...

Why You’ll Love This Book

• ROAD TRIP! If you wanted to go on a road-trip in the UK you’d be at your destination by sundown. Plus there are only so many Welcome Break service stations one should ever tolerate in life. Basically, life here in blighty isn’t made for cross-country explorations of self. This is why we need American road-trip novels, so that we can Feel and Fall in Love and have adventures of the mind. *sigh*
• Jake Tolan. Hello? Did somebody say hot, brooding boy? And what’s especially amazing about the development of this blatant romance (it’s not really a spoiler because you know it’s going to happen right from the moment he sets foot on her lawn and offers her a cigarette) is that we’re in classic But I Hate You! But I Love You! But I Hate You! territory here. There is nothing so sexy as electrifying banter, and this book has it by the bucket-load. 
• All of the Feelings. I was completely on board with Harper, our moody, sad narrator. And I felt moody and sad right along with her. I don’t know whether it’s because of the writing, or because I myself have been recently bereaved, but I just understood her character so entirely and really wanted her to find her happiness. Unfortunately, when I got to the end, I was left bereft and sad because I didn’t have a hot music-obsessed boy making mixtapes for me. 
• SOUNDTRACK!!! The music in this book is Excellent. So excellent that there is actually a list of what’s on the mixtapes at the back. So you can actually listen along whilst you’re reading! GENIUS!!! In fact the only thing that was missing was getting a chance to see some of Harper’s polaroids. This book should totes have had a scrapbook section. 

Why You May Not Love This Book:

• Practical logistics. Maybe it’s because I’m in my twenties and not a carefree teen anymore, but I was really worried about the money situation in this book. Nobody ever talked about it, there was no budgeting at any point, and I spent an obscene amount of time worrying on the characters’ behalf. Likewise, they never ran out of money - where was it coming from? How could they afford motel rooms and snacks? 
• Random tangents. At one point in the novel the kids get involved in a protest. But I have no idea why. Like seriously, no idea. It just kind of happens, and there’s a real lack of cause and affect and I’m left wondering why the hell they’re letting themselves get side-tracked before they’re even out of their home state! 

The Hypersomnia Test:

This was like Start Me Up by the Rolling Stones in book form. I was on board, I got it, and there was no chance of any sleepytimes whilst I was reading it. I found the emotions so powerful, and the romance element so fun, that you just couldn’t stop me reading this one. 

Final Verdict:

In summing up this book, there is one thing that I should make totally clear: it is VERY similar to Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson. So similar that I was annoyed at times. And I hate to say it in this review, but I think Matson accomplishes the whole thing a bit better. That’s not to say that this isn’t a fabulous and brilliantly entertaining book. It totally is and I force it into the hands of anyone looking for a mental escape, but at the same time I just can’t ignore the similarities. But then again, can you ever have too many road trip novels? I think not. 

Further Reading:

Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

Before I Die by Jenny Downham

To buy Saving June please click HERE!!!

Contempo-May Review: The Duff by Kody Keplinger

In One Line: When the High School Hottie calls Bianca the Designated Ugly Fat Friend, she gets angry, and you don’t want to see Bianca when she’s angry... 

Genre: High School Heart-break (with added sexytimes)

The Gist:

Oh Bianca, Bianca, Bianca. She’s your average moody cow, with teenage angst seething out through her pores. Plus the hottest and douchiest guy in the school has called her The Duff, which basically translates as the girl who makes her friends look prettier. Or, for guys, the girl you have to befriend in order to get to the pretty girls. So hearing this from Wesley ‘douchebag’ Rush pretty much sends Bianca into a hormonal tailspin, plus she’s got enough to deal with a home, what with an absconding mother and a recovering alcoholic father. So when Bianca gets paired with Wesley for a school project, what would you expect her to do? Slap him round the face? Do that prank that ends with him standing naked in the road in the middle of the night? Oh no no no. This girl isn’t messing. She’s got a little itch that Wesley is going to scratch - RIGHT NOW. 

The Cover:

This cover is pretty iconic. It’s been around in the states for a little while and FINALLY it’s over here, and I’ve seen it crop up a few times in my ‘suggested reads’ list on certain internet retail sites. So I welcome this cover with open arms. It’s yellow, it punches you in the face, and I’m ok with that. I also love the fact that it’s blatantly Bianca on the cover, although she never blows bubblegum in the novel, there’s just this sense of ‘Yeah? So what?!’ that transcends the image. 

Why You’ll Love This Book

• Open and frank acknowledgement of teenage sexytimes. If you can’t handle a seventeen year old coming to the quite reasonable realisation that she Just Needs To Get Laid, then this book isn’t for you. Bianca is forward, brash, and knows what she wants and how she likes it. Deal with it. *fistbumps Bianca*
• Wesley Rush. One of my favourite kind of romances is the good ol’: But I hate him! But I love him! But I hate him! But I love him! kind of romances. This is one of those. And the way that he falls so hard for Bianca before either of them even knows what’s going on? Totally, undeniably, HOT.
• Bianca. She is a total, crazy mess. But I love her. I love her loyalty to her friends, I love her no-nonsense feminism, and I love her vulnerability, which she hides behind a mask of bitchy grumpiness. I see through you Bianca. And I adore you. One day, you might even rule the world. 

Why You May Not Love This Book:

• Kody Keplinger was just seventeen when she wrote this novel. And this makes me insanely angry. Actually, if I was being totally honest, it makes me insanely jealous. Because she’s actually quite good. Even so, knowing that an author is that young can colour the writing, and I would understand some people who would dismiss it straight away just for this reason. I would say give it a shot. It’s not groundbreaking work, but it’s great fun, and well written for what it is. 
• Originality. I cant help but feel like I already know this story. And apart from that first moment when Bianca lunges at Wesley, which honestly took me by surprise, this book is really, really predictable. But sometimes that’s the point of rom-coms right? You always know that the main characters are going to get together, it’s just the How that keeps you reading or watching. 

The Hypersomnia Test:

Not only did this book help me through the sleepytimes, it also helped me through a strange hour where I was stranded in rural Shropshire. Plus the progression from mildly aggressive sexytimes to beautifully romantic sexytimes kept me thoroughly glued to the pages. In fact, I was really surprised by how quickly I finished this novel. I wanted more dammit!

Final Verdict:

So this is pretty much your typical teen easy-read - perfectly enjoyable, fun and enlightening. Will it win any major awards any time soon? Probably not. Will it make you stand up on your desk and shout ‘I’m a DUFF! We’re all DUFFs!’ - maybe. This book isn’t the deepest of creatures, but I definitely had one hell of a great time with it!

Further Reading:

The Summer I Turned Pretty - Jenny Han

Fixing Delilah - Sarah Ockler

10 Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn’t Have) - Sarah Mlynowski

To buy The Duff click HERE!!!

Contempo-May Review: When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle

In One Line: Romeo and Juliet from the other girl’s point of view... in modern day high school!

Genre: Based on Shakespeare

The Gist:

So you know that little play by that bald bloke with an earring? The Elizabethan one? Yeah, him. In the very beginning of that play, we have our romantic hero, Romeo, swooning over this girl called Rosaline. What, don’t remember it? That’s because he goes to a swanky party and meets some little madam called Juliet, and the rest is history. But who is this mysterious Rosaline? What’s her deal? Well you’re about to find out...

The Cover:

I can’t say that it really inspires me. Sure, there’s the balcony, and the star-crossed lovers eating each other’s tongues, but otherwise I’m underwhelmed. But there is nothing else that looks like this out there right now, and it would stand out on the shelves, and to be honest I’m pretty glad that there’s no dead girl in a red dress on the cover, so I’ll give this a tentative thumbs up. (Extra Tyra points for the pointy toes, that girl is modelling H2T!!!)

Why You’ll Love This Book

• You know how those awesome films Clueless and 10 Things I Hate About you are based on Shakespeare and are amazeballs? Well this is like those films but in BOOK FORM!
• This book at times stays really really close to the original Romeo and Juliet plot (it even structures it’s chapters into Acts and Scenes that parallel the original text) but it also strays far enough a way for it to not just be a Romeo and Juliet pastiche. It does it’s own thing, and very nicely too. 
• The fact that the action you know and love actually takes place off page. We’re looking at the Other Girl here and her story. There’s this great mystery about what actually goes down between Rob aka Romeo and Juliet aka Juliet and I like it that way. It’s Rosaline’s turn now y’all!
• Charlie and Olivia, the best friends, are brilliant. At times Olivia reminded me of Amanda Seyfried in the Mean Girls film, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
• Len. The joker dude you hate to love... *swoons*

Why You May Not Love This Book:

• Our hero, Rob aka Romeo, is a Class A douche. I couldn’t see any redeeming features and I don’t know what is meant to make him appealing. I just wish there was a way to relay his story and not have him come off as a complete knob. Was particularly furious about how he fell in insta-love with Juliet, but then I guess it has to be that way otherwise the entire novel wouldn’t work. Anyways, Rob = Bellend.
• Too many characters. Especially at the beginning there was an absolute flood of names and I was just a bit wah?! 
• If you’re looking for something deep and meaningful, you won’t find it here. This book is unashamed FUN. It won’t blow your socks off, and it won’t change your life, but it’s a great book to read between heavier titles, or whilst you’re studying the play in real life. 

The Hypersomnia Test:

Funnily enough I had this book in my case when I had my recent hospital stay for my sleep study! I was having all my tests for my hypersomnia, and in between tests I wasn’t allowed to nap at all. So I had a couple of friends stop by to keep me company, and in the other times I had this book! And it kept me awake! The pace was speedy, and the heartache angle really perked me up.

Final Verdict:

This book came at just the right time for me. I had read tons of dystopian fiction and I just wanted something fluffy and fun. This was that book. It was romantic and melancholy in all the right places, and the perfect escapist read. The book definitely has it’s flaws, but I didn’t care to look too deeply into them, and if you do the same then I guarantee a good time.

Further Reading:

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Saving Juliet by Suzanne Selfors

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

To buy When You Were Mine click HERE!!!

Contempo-May Sneak Peek...

We're three days into Contempo-May - my celebration of great YA novels that DON'T feature dsytopian sci-fi or supernatural boyfriends. As a special treat, here's a sneak peek of some of the books I'll be reviewing over the next couple of weeks...

What do you think?


Do you have any further suggestions?


If you're a publisher and would like me to feature a book of yours, be aware that the rules are: it must already be out or be coming out over the next couple of months, and it must be totally REAL. 


Hugs and high fives guys!!!


Nicole
x

Contempo-May Reading List: Ultimate Intense Reads

So here is the first reading list I've got for you as part of Contempo-May - great books, some new and some classic, that I would encourage you to read. Tonight, in honour of yesterday's review of the intensely shudder-making Heart-Shaped Bruise, I present the ultimate collection of intense YA reads. Be warned, attempt any of these books and you may end up either thoroughly chilled, disturbed, or in floods of tears. 
Enjoy!


1. Dance on my Grave by Aidan Chambers

One of the first LGBT YA books I ever read, and one I haven't forgotten in a hurry. Told in chilling, numbered snippets, this book tore me apart.


2. Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Intensely difficult to read in places due to the content, it's the beauty of the language that keeps you going through the particularly tough bits. I cried in three separate places during this novel and by the end I was a total mess. 


3. 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher

One of two novels on this list that I actually haven't read yet. Probably because I'm terrified that its going to absolutely wreck me. 


4. Crank by Ellen Hopkins

The other book on this list that I haven't read yet (but desperately want to!). I've read other novels told in verse, and I can assure you it makes for an intensely personal read, akin to glimpsing someone's diary.


5. Tenderness by Robert Cormier

Annoyingly can't find a link to this one through my preferred online retailer... (am not entirely sure that it's still in print!) Basically I could have chosen anything by Robert Cormier because dude is Dark with a capital D. But this book has a gentle sensitivity to it that makes the ending particularly chilling. 


6. Junk by Melvin Burgess

Melvin is my king of first person POV. He draws you in with intensely believable characters, then sucker-punches you with raw emotion. This book is also an education and may change your attitudes towards squatters and drug addiction. 


7. When I Was Joe by Keren David

Good and bad, right and wrong, this book is a journey through some of the darkest YA issues of our current times. And yet you'll be gripped the entire way through by the voice of Ty, captivating from the very start. 


8. Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma

If you're looking for seriously fugged up romance, look no further than this book. Whenever I show people the blurb the response is always "EEEWWW!" but the real revelation of this novel is the fact that you end up completely and utterly rooting for the main characters. Which is weird. 


9. Nothing by Janne Teller

We're going into the seriously weird zone with this book. A modern fable with traces of The Lord of the Flies, you think it's not going to go there, but it TOTALLY goes there. Leaves you with a seriously icky, shuddery feeling. 


10. You Against Me by Jenny Downham

I'm going to leave you with the 2012 winner of the Teen division of the Waterstones Children's Book Prize. This is a book that not only gets under your skin, but settles in your bones. The ultimate tortured, fugged up romance (not involving siblings - see above). 

Contempo-May Review: Heart-Shaped Bruise by Tanya Byrne

In One Line: Emily Koll did something bad - wanna know what it was?

Genre: Gut-wrenching psychological thriller-drama

The Gist:

What you are reading is the story of Emily Koll, written from the psychiatric unit of Archway Young Offender’s Institution. And Emily Koll is all sorts of cray-cray. As she writes in her notebook we learn about the tragic turn of events that led Emily to her current position: a girl called Juliet stabbed Emily’s Dad, Emily’s life was torn apart, and then Emily decided to get revenge. Get prepared to be thoroughly chilled.  

The Cover:

I didn’t like it at first, because, dude, it’s totally grey. But now that I’ve read the book, it makes sense, and I’m finding myself lingering over it, amazed at how beautifully it captures all the feelings and themes. But it’s still grey. I mean, it works for me now that I’ve read the book, but will it work for the people who haven’t read it yet? In other words, the ones that are actually buying it? I’m not convinced. Also, this bird called Sophie Hannah? I literally have no idea who she is. Should I have heard of her?

Why You’ll Love This Book

• Emily. We’re taking major anti-hero here. Proper dark and scary and psychologically damaged and absolutely wonderful. It’s so difficult to make an anti-hero work, because essentially, if someone is horrible, why the hell would you want to know what happens to them? The beauty of Emily is that she is deeply intriguing, and behind all the darkness you spend most of the novel hoping for just a tiny glimpse of softness. 
• It’s a cut above. If, like me, you’ve been reading a lot of Same-Old dystopian thrillers, or Same-Old high school romances, or Same-Old forbidden vampires/werewolves/insert supernatural boyfriend here, then this book will be a refreshing joy. It’s new, it’s crazy and it’s superbly written. Books like this don’t come around very often. 

Why You May Not Love This Book:

• At times I scared myself by how captivating I found the story, because I was wondering if I was a little messed up. It’s the same feeling I get when I watch Crimewatch for kicks, or read a juicy kiss-n-tell in The News of the World (RIP), or find myself reading Wikipedia articles on Lizzie Borden. I mean, we all do that right? Sure. Course we do. Or have I just outed myself as a Mega-Weirdo? Heart Shaped Bruise has made me think about all this crazy shizzle. 
• Is this book YA? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. My personal definition of YA literature is a book that returns you to that feeling of teenagehood. Whether you actually are 16 and Relate or are 36 and Remember, YA captures that hot mess of hormones and hope. Sometimes this book goes beyond that and presents us with themes that are adult and complex, and then sometimes we get stunning flashes of YA gold - see in particular the scene with Emily and Hot Sid sitting in a tree, definitely not K-I-S-S-I-N-G but eating orange smarties instead. Obviously pondering this will not do anything to diminish your joy at reading this book, but as a YA blogger I thought it was worth considering. 

The Hypersomnia Test:

I’m awake! Look at me! I’m awake! Because whilst reading this book my life revolved around one thing: wondering what the hell Emily ended up doing to Juliet to mean she ended up in freaked up psychiatric facility. 

Final Verdict:

Guys, Tanya Byrne is the real deal. To the extent that, as someone who’d like to write her own books one day, makes me feel all sad and jealous. In the good way. This book will stay with you for a long, long time. 

Further Reading:

Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood

Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen

To buy Heart Shaped Bruise click HERE!!!