Review: The Outliers by Kimberly McCreight (DNF)

Wylie hasn’t heard from Cassie in over a week, not since their last fight. But that doesn’t matter. Cassie’s in trouble, so Wylie decides to do what she has done so many times before: save her best friend from herself.

This time it’s different, though. Instead of telling Wylie where she is, Cassie sends cryptic clues. And instead of having Wylie come by herself, Jasper shows up saying Cassie sent him to help. Trusting the guy who sent Cassie off the rails doesn’t feel right, but Wylie has no choice: she has to ignore her gut instinct and go with him.

But figuring out where Cassie is goes from difficult to dangerous, fast. As Wylie and Jasper head farther and farther north into the dense woods of Maine, Wylie struggles to control her growing sense that something is really wrong. What isn’t Cassie telling them? And could finding her be only the beginning

This book just did not work for me. 

I am not a fan of books where kids just... run off. Cassie has family issues but she just did a runner without telling anyone where she was going. Jasper was just a weak character, for a supporting character. I wasn't really absorbed into the storyline or the mystery of the book at all.

I got to 40% before I decided that I just couldn't push on anymore.

Overall Rating: DNF

Book released May 2rd by HarperCollins

Book received from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review

Review: We Were Never Here by Jennifer Gilmore

Did you know your entire life can change in an instant?

For sixteen-year-old Lizzie Stoller that moment is when she collapses, out of the blue. The next thing she knows she’s in a hospital with an illness she’s never heard of.

But that isn’t the only life-changing moment for Lizzie. The other is when Connor and his dog, Verlaine, walk into her hospital room. Lizzie has never connected with anyone the way she does with the handsome, teenage volunteer. However, the more time she spends with him, and the deeper in love she falls, the more she realizes that Connor has secrets and a deep pain of his own . . . and that while being with him has the power to make Lizzie forget about her illness, being with her might tear Connor apart.

I just really did not get along with this book, it was so unimpressive that i really don't have a whole lot to say about it. I felt like I didn't really connect with the book or any of the characters which is bad because I totally did enjoy it to start with, it just got very tedious and Connor as a character tipped the scaled to unenjoyable.

Connor was just very spoilt - I get that he had his issues but he didn't exactly help himself. He thought he was the focus of everything and was very unappreciative of what Lizzie was going through. I felt like he just had nothing good about him and there was no chemistry at all...

I did enjoy the parts of the book about the dog training - I'm a big believer of dog rehabilitation and use of dogs to help the sick and disabled, so I really loved seeing that in a book.

Overall, We Were Never Here was a pretty forgettable book - there were some good parts of the book but overall it fell extremely flat for me.

Book released June 14th 2016 by HarperTeen

Book received from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review

Shelf Spotlight (9.7.16)

Shelf Spotlight is my weekly haul meme where I talk about all of the books that I have got this week in print and ebook format!

It's based on Stacking the Shelves hosted over at Tynga's Reviews.

This week is an amazing week - as some of you may know I work as a receptionist in a very popular hotel. As of next week I start my manager training! It's super exciting :D

Also, I celebrated my Six Year Blogoversary this week and I'm giving away prizes because why not. Check out the giveaway here!

Now without further ado:

Edelweiss

       

The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee (HarperCollins - August 30th)

If I Fix You by Abigail Johnson (Harlequin Teen - October 25th)

Extraordinary October by Diana Wagman (Ig Publishing - October 11th)

Disruption by Jessica Shirvington (2014 - HarperCollins)

   

Tell Me Some Thing Real by Calla Devlin (SS/Antheneum - August 30th)

Rose & Thorn by Sarah Prineas (HarperTeen - September 13th)

As I Descended by Robin Talley (HarperTeen - September 6th)

dotwav by Mike A. Lancaster (SkyPony - September 6th)

NetGalley

  

The Romantics by Leah Konen (Amulet - November 1st)

Girl in the Shadows by Gwenda Bond (Skyscape - July 5th)

Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard (Feb 2016 (UK Pub Orion in July) - HarperTeen)

So there's my selection for the week, now show me yours!

Blogoversary Giveaway!!!!

I can't believe it, but Ink Scratchers is six years old today.

What started as a way for me to kill some time and procrastinate as a teen has turned into me as an adult weighed under by hundreds of books TBR. But I love it!

I've had my ups and downs as a blogger, the worst part was coming back after my hiatus and having to start pretty much from scratch again, but I'm back to it now!

So I'm giving away at least two books up to £15 GBP to winners, because I can. I may actually have more prizes, but I recently passed my driving test so I'll be buying a car on pay day ;D

The rules (as always)

• You must live in an area where The Book Depository delivers free.
• Winner must respond within 48 hours of my emailing them, or a new winner will be chosen.
• You can pick any book(s) - preorder or backlist, as long as it comes under the total of £15.
• Winners will be announced on either 25th or 26th July.

You don't need to follow me/tweet/anything, but I'd really appreciate it if you did. I'm trying to get my blog moving since coming back off hiatus and I'd love to meet more bloggers.

Winner's have been announced and have been contacting - thank you everyone for entering!

Review: Winning by Lara Deloza

Whoever said being nice would get you to the top?

Certainly not Alexandra Miles. She isn’t nice, but she’s more than skilled at playing the part. She floats through the halls of Spencer High, effortlessly orchestrating the actions of everyone around her, making people bend to her whim without even noticing they’re doing it. She is the queen of Spencer High—and it’s time to make it official.

Alexandra has a goal, you see—Homecoming Queen. Her ambitions are far grander than her small town will allow, but homecoming is just the first step to achieving total domination. So when peppy, popular Erin Hewett moves to town and seems to have a real shot at the crown, Alexandra has to take action.

With the help of her trusted friend Sam, she devises her most devious plot yet. She’ll introduce an unexpected third competitor in the mix, one whose meteoric rise—and devastating fall—will destroy Erin’s chances once and for all. Alexandra can run a scheme like this in her sleep. What could possibly go wrong?

Winning was such a confusing book - I started it expecting an underdog read, where new girl comes and usurps the queen biatch from her high school throne. Instead, I got something much more involved - I got Lexi, an anti-hero with ambition but also some kind of goodness in her. There's Sam, the sidekick with a backbone and Erin, the new girl who get's pulled into it all unexpectedly but takes it in her stride. There are some amazing subplots as well, like Erin and Sam's budding relationship (yay for positive LGBT representation).

I'm not by any point saying that this is a deep meaningful book and I can't even say it's a memorable read. It was good through, it's very entertaining reading about catfights and this book takes it to the next level by making the characters actually have personalities and motivations.

I loved how everything was resolved in this book, and the whole time I read it I was thinking about how I would love to see this on the screen, either as a movie or a short TV series - someone write a screenplay already.  

Overall, Winning was a good book with fleshed-out characters and a brilliant storyline. it wasn't amazingly memorable, but it was an enjoyable read in the vein of Mean Girls.

Book released June 28th 2016 by HarperTeen

Book received from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review

Review: A Season for Fireflies by Rebecca Maizel

A year ago, Penny Berne was the star of her high school’s theater department, surrounded by a group of misfit friends and falling in love for the first time. Now her old friends won’t talk to her, her new best friend is the most popular girl in school, and her first love, Wes, ignores her. Penny is revered and hated. Then, in a flash, a near-fatal lightning strike leaves Penny with no memory of the past year—or how she went from drama nerd to queen bee.

As a record number of fireflies light up her town and her life, Penny realizes she may be able to make things right again—and that even if she can’t change the past, she can learn to see the magic where she never could before.

The great thing about A Season for Fireflies is that it's so short. That sounds a bit like an insult but it actually isn't - this is actually a good book but it benefits from the fact that nothing is dragged out more than it needs to be. Sure, the pace is a little bit slow at times but this book managed to always hold my interest.

This book has a great plot - Penny has some personal issues and as a result she distances herself from her true friends and becomes popular and unattainable. Then, she is struck by lightning and forgets about the last year - the last thing she remembers she was a theatre kid, getting close to something more with Wes, her good friend. Watching Penny comes to terms with the person she had become is one thing, but then when she stops and looks she realises that neither version of herself is wrong and that she can combine both. It was really inspiring.

I feel like the only thing I didn't quite get was the thing with the fireflies. I feel like it was there as some kind of motif for the main plot but it just didn't mix for me - it seemed like a distraction rather than something that added to the plot.

Overall, there's not much to say about A Season for Fireflies - it was a good story which kept me entertained and it wasn't really too long as well. A pretty good summer read!

Book released June 28th 2016 by HarperTeen

Book received from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review

Review: The Loose Ends List by Carrie Firestone

Seventeen-year-old Maddie O'Neill Levine lives a charmed life, and is primed to spend the perfect pre-college summer with her best friends and young-at-heart socialite grandmother (also Maddie's closest confidante), tying up high school loose ends. Maddie's plans change the instant Gram announces that she is terminally ill and has booked the family on a secret "death with dignity" cruise ship so that she can leave the world in her own unconventional way - and give the O'Neill clan an unforgettable summer of dreams-come-true in the process.

Soon, Maddie is on the trip of a lifetime with her over-the-top family. As they travel the globe, Maddie bonds with other passengers and falls for Enzo, who is processing his own grief. But despite the laughter, headiness of first love, and excitement of glamorous destinations, Maddie knows she is on the brink of losing Gram. She struggles to find the strength to say good-bye in a whirlwind summer shaped by love, loss, and the power of forgiveness.

I am not proud to admit that Carrie Firestone made me cry. This book made me crawl into my bed and make myself into a ball and sob like the wreck I am, because this is such a beautiful book and there is just so much to say about it and even now, after I have calmed down and taken a break I feel a sense of heartbreak when I think of this book.

Now let me completely contradict myself, because I'm about to tell you that The Loose Ends List is a really fun read - and it actually is - there are some really funny, cute bits. Of course, this is a book about a load of ill people and their families coming to terms with the fact that soon they are going to die. Obviously it's sad, but this makes for some really beautiful, hopeful scenes as well. This book is just the perfect mix of happy, sad, hopeful and perfect. It was just this mix of emotions which is why it's going to stay with me for a long time.

To start with, I wasn't the biggest fan of Maddie. She seemed selfish and sarcastic and I didn't like it. This passed pretty quickly. I loved the whole cast of characters, from Maddie's family to Paige, a friend she makes on the ship and all of the other passengers. I loved Enzo, perfect sweet Enzo the most. 

I really loved the places they went to and the things that they did, but nothing trumps the way this book made me feel. All of the characters come together to create this amazing group of people getting through this heartbreaking journey and learning things about themselves whilst they do it. I don't know if this was meant to be the main focus but for me it was, everything else - the romance, the family - they all took a back seat to the bigger message.

I'm going to stop now, because I can't trust myself to write a well worded review on this book - it blew me away that much. 

I'll leave it at three words which I hope you will all listen to: read this book.

Book released June 16th 2016 by Hachette Children's Group

Book received from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review