The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart

Summary: "Ruby Oliver is 15 and has a shrink. She knows it’s unusual, but give her a break—she’s had a rough 10 days. In the past 10 days she:

lost her boyfriend (#13 on the list),

lost her best friend (Kim),

lost all her other friends (Nora, Cricket),

did something suspicious with a boy (#10),

did something advanced with a boy (#15),

had an argument with a boy (#14),

drank her first beer (someone handed it to her),

got caught by her mom (ag!),

had a panic attack (scary),

lost a lacrosse game (she’s the goalie),

failed a math test (she’ll make it up),

hurt Meghan’s feelings (even though they aren’t really friends),

became a social outcast (no one to sit with at lunch)

and had graffiti written about her in the girls’ bathroom (who knows what was in the boys’!?!).

But don’t worry—Ruby lives to tell the tale. And make more lists."

Review: So. It's been a while coming, but it was inevitable, ever since I read The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks. I finally read the Ruby Oliver books. And, as expected, they were pretty much awesome.

I like Ruby... rather a lot. Mind, I don't agree with all the choices she makes, but she herself is cute, smart, funny, and basically a pretty cool chick. I think Ruby's a tad more relate-able than Frankie, since Frankie, even though she wants a boyfriend and acts on that desire, also admits that she doesn't need a boyfriend and pretty much just likes having one. Ruby, on the other hand, has that passion and teenage angst, wherein she loves Jackson and needs him and pretty much can't live without him.

Fun fact: I was talking about E. Lockhart and her feminist ways earlier, and someone commented that she subscribes to the "A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle" school of thought... and that quote was totally mentioned in The Boyfriend List. So good call.

Goodreads Shelves: addictive, fluffy, funny, is-this-a-kissing-book, thought-provoking, to-own

Rating:

Forget You by Jennifer Echols

Summary: "WHY CAN’T YOU CHOOSE WHAT YOU FORGET . . .  AND WHAT YOU REMEMBER?  There’s a lot Zoey would like to forget. Like how her father has knocked up his twenty-four- year old girlfriend. Like Zoey’s fear that the whole town will find out about her mom’s nervous breakdown. Like darkly handsome bad boy Doug taunting her at school. Feeling like her life is about to become a complete mess, Zoey fights back the only way she knows how, using her famous attention to detail to make sure she’s the perfect daughter, the perfect student, and the perfect girlfriend to ultra-popular football player Brandon.  But then Zoey is in a car crash, and the next day there’s one thing she can’t remember at all—the entire night before. Did she go parking with Brandon, like she planned? And if so, why does it seem like Brandon is avoiding her? And why is Doug—of all people— suddenly acting as if something significant happened between the two of them? Zoey dimly remembers Doug pulling her from the wreck, but he keeps referring to what happened that night as if it was more, and it terrifies Zoey to admit how much is a blank to her. Controlled, meticulous Zoey is quickly losing her grip on the all-important details of her life—a life that seems strangely empty of Brandon, and strangely full of Doug."

Review: I'm not gonna lie. I hated a lot of this book. Zoey is just wandering around, having no idea what's going on at all, not telling anyone she has no idea, and therefore looking like an idiot. And I have a problem with people looking like idiots. I wanted to slap her.

Also, the Brandon thing. Zoey's in the classic "you knew what he was when you picked him up" situation, and I was appalled that she kept trying to pretend she was with him when she definitely should have known that she wasn't.

And one more thing. The summary says that Zoey tries to appear perfect and put up a show of being flawless. But I didn't see that at all. There was no character development in that department, besides the fact that she talked about her manicure all the time. (But I'm afraid that noticing the state of a manicure doth not a fully developed character make.)

So, to sum up: Zoey was an idiot, I didn't like her, I didn't like her dad (which I didn't mention because there's not much to do besides call him a big old d.b.), and I pretty much just didn't like this book. Although it still gets two stars, because at least I read the second half in one sitting.

Goodreads Shelves: fluffy, is-this-a-kissing-book, pretentious

Rating:plus a frowny face, for good measure :(

Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Goodreads Summary: "For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her...until Patch comes along.
With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgment, but after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure whom to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is, and to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is far more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.
For Nora is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost her life."

Review: Ok... what's the deal with Nora and Patch? He humiliates her, goes out of his way to make her life difficult (hey, Patch? just because you're not mortal and don't need to get good grades and go to college, doesn't mean other people don't. Stop interfering with Nora's bio grade. kthxbai), and is rude and cryptic whenever he talks to her, which is all the time. BUT WAIT! For reasons she can't explain, she's drawn to him!!!


There's "then he looked at me twice" drama, and then there's ridiculous drama. And this was definitely the latter. Besides which... I liked Elliot a lot better. You know, before he started being all creepy. Prior to that point, he definitely counted as one of my Likeable Bad Guys (because I had heard enough about it to know that she was going to end up with Patch, thus making Elliot a bad guy).

And yet... I still liked it. It was pretty good. It didn't, thank goodness, have Twilight Pacing, which is Relationship Drama for the first two-thirds/three-fourths of the book... and then an inexplicable dangerous situation that Has To Be Resolved for the last third/fourth. It was one book the whole time, which actually had a fairly coherent storyline, so... props for that.

Probably going to read Crescendo.

Goodreads Shelves: addictive, fluffy, is-this-a-kissing-book

Rating: 

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins - Spoiler-free!!

Summary: This is the third book in the Hunger Games series. If you haven't read the first two... you should go read them. And if you have, Mockingjay picks up where Catching Fire left off, ok?

Review: So I didn't read this one until a week and a half after it came out... I didn't want to buy it (especially since I don't own the first two), and I was a million years back on the hold list at the library. Luckily I have some sisters-in-law who like the series, so I borrowed a copy from them and read it over the weekend. Hooray!

I ... don't know. It was ... pretty good? It was a good conclusion to the series; I feel like the characters were true to their previous actions and to the direction their development had lead them. My favorite relationship in the book was between Katniss and Haymitch... They really get each other, and I like that.

Events led themselves to a logical conclusion, I think. I'm pleased with where it ended up.

Something I didn't like: I don't really feel like it blew my mind like the others. There was always something horrifying or crazy about the other books, and once this series hit the larger scale I feel like that stopped. The plot, for the most part, was fairly predictable.

And one more thing - because I had to mention the love triangle at some point: I feel like this was an unusual love triangle, because of the complete lack of a preference on Katniss's part. (I'm referring here to the first two books.) And it's not that she felt the same amount of emotion/love for each boy... it's the lack thereof. I honestly don't think she needs either one of them, and that's part of what makes me like her. If it weren't for the fact that the boys are so in love with her (and thus her ending up with one of them is strongly foreshadowed), I would have been pulling for the "A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle" philosophy and wanted her to end up alone... because she wanted it that way.

Goodreads Shelves: addictive, is-this-a-kissing-book, pretentious, thought-provoking


Rating:

Book Blogger Hop #7

Hey y'all! Friday generally equals Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Jen at Crazy for Books, so... here I am, hopping. :)

As Jen puts it,

In the spirit of the Twitter Friday Follow, the Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love of the written word!  This weekly BOOK PARTY is an awesome opportunity for book bloggers to connect with other book lovers, make new friends, support each other, and generally just share our love of books!  It will also give blog readers a chance to find other book blogs to read!  

She puts a question to her bloggers every week, and this week's question is

Do you judge a book by its cover?

I've noticed a lot of people saying yes, which, given the creativity all over book covers today, doesn't surprise me at all.

My answer is also yes. I'm more inclined to read a book if I like its cover, although if I've read enough good reviews about a book (or even just one solid rave), I'll overlook a blah cover and give it a try.

All those who are visiting from the Hop, welcome!!