Tag: family

Something in Between by Melissa de la Cruz | Review

October 10, 2016 / 6 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Diversity, Review
Something in Between by Melissa de la Cruz | Review

Review: Something in Between by Melissa de la Cruz Something in Between by Melissa de la Cruz is the sensitively told story of Jasmine de Los Santos: straight A student, cheer captain, and junior class president. She’s poised for greatness, earning a National Scholarship, when her parents drop the bomb: she can’t accept it because she and her family are undocumented immigrants, in America illegally. Something in Between was my first Melissa de la Cruz book, and I really enjoyed it. I know that Melissa has written dozens of other books in the past, but this one that really appealed to me. […]

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 […]

Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld | Book Review

April 21, 2016 / 4 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Review
Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld | Book Review

Review: Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld is a witty and enjoyable, if long, retelling of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Clocking in at 512 pages, Sittenfeld takes her time establishing the characters, the city of Cincinnati, and the society in which they live. This is a book for people who like to fall in love with a city and who, like Elizabeth Bennet herself, tend to hold onto first impressions of books and characters. At first glance, Liz Bennet and her family seem like pretty despicable people. They’re old money Cincinnati folk, born with and continuing […]

Waiting on Wednesday: Off the Ice by Julie Cross

Waiting on Wednesday: Off the Ice by Julie Cross

Off the Ice Author: Julie Cross Publisher: Simon & Schuster Publication date: 2016 Junior Tate Tanley hasn’t made it off the bench since joining the hockey team as a freshman. But after the Otters’ star goalie leaves during a huge game, Tate’s got the attention of the entire town. Including Claire O’Connor, who’s mysteriously back in Juniper Falls and who he hasn’t seen in a year. But Tate hasn’t stopped thinking about Claire or what happened the night before she left. Claire O’Connor should be enjoying college life in the big city. Instead, she’s serving drinks to handsy fishermen and […]

“Our Love Belongs To Everyone Who Loves Us” Review: After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid

August 13, 2014 / 4 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Review, Uncategorized
“Our Love Belongs To Everyone Who Loves Us” Review: After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid

After I Do Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid (website | twitter) Publisher: Washington Square Press (Simon & Schuster) Genre: Adult Fiction Source/Format: Library eBook Publication date: July 1st 2014 My rating: 4 out of 5 stars. From the author of Forever, Interrupted—hailed by Sarah Jio as “moving, gorgeous, and at times heart-wrenching”—comes a breathtaking new novel about modern marriage, the depth of family ties, and the year that one remarkable heroine spends exploring both. When Lauren and Ryan’s marriage reaches the breaking point, they come up with an unconventional plan. They decide to take a year off in the hopes of finding […]

Review: Mister Max: The Book of Lost Things by Cynthia Voigt

September 10, 2013 / 5 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Review, Uncategorized
Review: Mister Max: The Book of Lost Things by Cynthia Voigt

Mister Max: The Book of Lost Things Author: Cynthia Voigt (website) Illustrator: Iacopo Bruno  Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers Source: eARC from publisher on NetGalley Publication date: September 10th 2013 (today!) My rating: 4 out of 5 stars Goodreads synopsis: Max Starling’s theatrical father likes to say that at twelve a boy is independent. He also likes to boast (about his acting skills, his wife’s acting skills, a fortune only his family knows is metaphorical), but more than anything he likes to have adventures. Max Starling’s equally theatrical mother is not a boaster but she enjoys a good adventure as much as […]

Review: The Almost Truth by Eileen Cook

January 18, 2013 / 27 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Review, Uncategorized
Review: The Almost Truth by Eileen Cook

The Almost Truth Author: Eileen Cook Publisher: Simon Pulse Publication Date: December 12, 2012 Format: Hardcover borrowed from Toronto Public Library My rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars Synopsis:  From Goodreads: From the author of Unraveling Isobel and The Education of Hailey Kendrick, a smart, romantic novel about a teenage con artist who might be in over her head. Sadie can’t wait to get away from her backwards small town, her delusional mom, her jailbird dad, and the tiny trailer where she was raised…even though leaving those things behind also means leaving Brendan. Sadie wants a better life, and she has […]

Review: My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

October 12, 2012 / 12 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Review, Uncategorized
Review: My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

Publication Date: June 14, 2012 Format: Hardcover, 395 pages My rating: 4 of 5 stars This was a beautifully told summer tale of first love, family and morals. That makes it sound pretty boring, huh? But there’s nothing boring about Samantha and Jase’s first love. We’re talking smoldering, kids. Even The Atlantic Wire has this on its list of books that are sexier than Fifty Shades of Grey Ok, synopsis: Samantha has always watched the huge, rambunctious Garrett family since they moved in. Her mom, a state senator, has always implicitly forbidden her to do so because the Garretts seem uncivilized to […]

The Fine Art of Truth or Dare by Melissa Jensen

September 14, 2012 / 6 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Review, Uncategorized
The Fine Art of Truth or Dare by Melissa Jensen

The Fine Art of Truth or Dare by Melissa Jensen My rating: 3 of 5 stars Review: The Fine Art of Truth or Dare was one of the 2012 releases I was most looking forward to. Unfortunately, I felt that its peculiar structure and its pacing made it a confusing and frustrating read. Plot: Ella Marino is a smart, sassy, 16-year old who is interested in art and art history. In particular, she’s obsessed with Edward Willing, a post-Impressionist artist who was the nephew of the lady who founded her school, the Willing School. Ella comes from a large Italian family […]

Waiting on Wednesday: Perfect Scoundrels by Ally Carter

September 12, 2012 / 6 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Book Memes, Waiting on Wednesday
Waiting on Wednesday: Perfect Scoundrels by Ally Carter

  “Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that book bloggers are eagerly anticipating. This week’s pre-publication, “can’t-wait-to-read” book is the third book in the Heist Society series! Author: Ally Carter Edition: Hardcover, 304 pages Publisher: Hyperion Books for Children Publication Date: February 5, 2012 From the author’s website: Katarina Bishop and W.W. Hale the fifth were born to lead completely different lives: Kat comes from a long, proud line of lovable criminal masterminds, while Hale is the scion of one of the most seemingly perfect dynasties in the world. If their families […]