Tag: 4 stars

Leave Me by Gayle Forman | ARC Review

September 1, 2016 / 4 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Review
Leave Me by Gayle Forman | ARC Review

Review: Leave Me by Gayle Forman Leave Me by Gayle Forman. Whoa. So I feel like I should preface this review by saying that Gayle Forman is my favorite author. Just One Day is my all-time favorite YA book, and it changed my life. To say I had high expectations for Leave Me, her first adult book, is an understatement. That said, going in, I already had some reservations about the main character, Maribeth, who decides to leave her family after a heart attack. I just couldn’t imagine myself being able to relate to that or feeling that desperate in […]

Keep Reading! »

Two Books About Trauma and Its Aftermath

August 30, 2016 / 0 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Mini-Reviews, Review
Two Books About Trauma and Its Aftermath

Hi guys, today I have nice, light-hearted reviews for you, perfect for sum–I’m just kidding. And I probably shouldn’t kid about this. Today I’m reviewing All We Have Left by Wendy Mills and 738 Days by Stacey Kade. These are two very different books about trauma and that deal with grief in different situations and circumstances. They’re not super easy to read, but they’re both pretty good and portray trauma with honesty and compassion. Read on for my thoughts. Two Books About Trauma and Its Aftermath A moving portrayal of the before and after of 9/11 and how it affects […]

Keep Reading! »

Recently in Romance: Sarina Bowen edition, Part 2!

August 23, 2016 / 1 Comment / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Feature, Mini-Reviews, Recently in Romance, Review
Recently in Romance: Sarina Bowen edition, Part 2!

Hi guys, I’m back today with Part 2 of my Sarina Bowen love fest! If you missed Part 1, Sarina is a new adult romance author whose books I’ve absolutely fallen in love with. Check out yesterday’s post for reviews of hockey romance series The Ivy Years and her upcoming book Rookie Move! Today I’ll be reviewing the Him series, her male/male hockey romance collaboration with Elle Kennedy, as well as her newest books, and my personal favorites, Bittersweet and Steadfast, from her True North series set in Vermont. The True North series by Sarina Bowen LOVE LOVE LOVE. Sarina […]

Keep Reading! »

Two Geektastic Reads for the Avenger in All of Us

August 12, 2016 / 5 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Mini-Reviews, Review
Two Geektastic Reads for the Avenger in All of Us

Summer, to me, is usually always about the beach and the lake and sunshine and contemporary romances. But, let’s be honest, we can’t be on vacation all the time. Summer is also all about the blockbuster movie – you know, that geeky DC or Marvel movie with exploding stuff that you watch in a too-air-conditioned theatre. Or the sci-fi one where the world is ending and there’s a tiny group of humans who have to save the day. I haven’t watched a ton of those movies this summer, but I have been reading a few books that are kind of similar, […]

Keep Reading! »

Defending Taylor by Miranda Kenneally | Review

July 8, 2016 / 2 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Review
Defending Taylor by Miranda Kenneally | Review

Review: Defending Taylor by Miranda Kenneally Taylor Lukens had a perfect life. With great support from her fantastic family, including a senator father, and two older siblings who love her, she’s captain of the soccer and debate team at her private boarding school and on the road to Yale. But everything changes after one evening in the woods where she takes the fall for her boyfriend Ben, who has a backpack full of prescription pills. Expelled from her private school, Taylor is forced to do senior year at Hundred Oaks High, where she’s given the brush-off by most people who think […]

Keep Reading! »

“Always Starting Over”: One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid | Review

June 6, 2016 / 1 Comment / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Review
“Always Starting Over”: One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid | Review

Review: Holy moly. ONE TRUE LOVES by Taylor Jenkins Reid answers one of my biggest questions – and I think a lot of people’s questions – about whether you can have more than one “love of your life.” I’ve always wondered what would happen and how I would feel if something like this happened to me. Even now, I can’t even fathom it, but I feel like Taylor Jenkins Reid, with her brilliant, sensitive, emotional writing, has given me a glimpse into a little bit of how I would feel. I’m not even going to try to summarize this, because […]

Keep Reading! »

2 YA Books To Read On Sexual Assault : The Way I Used To Be & Exit, Pursued by a Bear

March 25, 2016 / 9 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Discussion, Review
2 YA Books To Read On Sexual Assault : The Way I Used To Be & Exit, Pursued by a Bear

Hi everyone, today I have reviews of two recent YA books to read on sexual assault: The Way I Used to Be by Amber Smith and Exit, Pursued by a Bear by E.K. Johnson.If you’ve read this blog recently or follow me on Twitter at all in the last year, you know that consent and sexual abuse are issues that I care very deeply about. I’ve chosen to bundle these reviews together because they deal with the rape of teenage girls in two vastly different, but equally honest and thought-provoking ways. It’s fascinating to read them together and to see just how wide the range of […]

Keep Reading! »

“They Don’t Know About Us”: The Heartbreakers by Ali Novak

August 4, 2015 / 7 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Review, Uncategorized
“They Don’t Know About Us”: The Heartbreakers by Ali Novak

Stella and her twins Cara and Drew have been through a lot together – Cara has non-Hodgkins lymphoma and has been in and out of the hospital as a teen. Now, with their eighteeth birthday coming up, Drew and Stella concoct a scheme to get her signed memorabilia from the world’s biggest boy band, the Heartbreakers – and Stella’s worst nightmare. A bunch of coincidences throw them together with the band for a night, where they have an amazing time together, especially Stella and lead singer Oliver. When an opportunity comes up for Stella to work with the band again, […]

Keep Reading! »

“I Used to Write” Kissing in America by Margo Rabb

May 27, 2015 / 4 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Review, Uncategorized
“I Used to Write” Kissing in America by Margo Rabb

Win a copy of Kissing in America or another May release! Kissing in America Author: Margo Rabb (website | twitter) Publisher: Harper Collins Source/Format: ARC sent to me by Harper Collins Canada in exchange for an honest review (thank you!) Publication date: May 26, 2015 (yesterday!) My rating: 4 out of 5 stars Buy It: Indigo.ca | Amazon.ca | Amazon.com | Barnes and Noble | IndieBound | The Book Depository “Wise, inspiring, and ultimately uplifting—not to be missed.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review “A hilarious, thought-provoking, wrenching, and joyful quest.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review “Authentic and complex…This is a smart teen’s novel.”—Booklist, starred review […]

Keep Reading! »

“Don’t Call Me Crazy” Review: Omega City by Diana Peterfreund

May 5, 2015 / 3 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Review
“Don’t Call Me Crazy” Review: Omega City by Diana Peterfreund

Omega City (Omega City #1) Author: Diana Peterfreund (website | twitter) Publisher: Balzer + Bray (Harper Collins Children’s) Source/Format: eARC from publisher on Edelweiss (thank you!) Publication Date: April 28th 2015 My rating: 4 out of 5 stars.  Buy It: Indigo.ca | Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble | Apple iBooks | The Book Depository The first middle grade novel in an exciting new series from acclaimed author Diana Peterfreund, perfect for fans of The Goonies and The City of Ember. Gillian Seagret doesn’t listen to people who say her father’s a crackpot. His conspiracy theories about the lost technology of Cold War–era […]

Keep Reading! »