Mini Review: How to Save Your Child from Ostrich Attacks, Accidental Time Travel, and Anything Else that Might Happen on an Average Tuesday by James Breakwell

Title: How to Save Your Child from Ostrich Attacks, Accidental Time Travel, and Anything Else that Might Happen on an Average Tuesday
Author: James Breakwell
Format: Paperback, 200 pages
Pub. Date: November 5th 2019
Source: Borrowed from Emily


Book Description:

The parenting humorist behind the viral Twitter account @XplodingUnicorn and author of Only Dead on the Inside: A Parent’s Guide to Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse presents the long-awaited guide to surviving everything else

In the era of instant parent shaming and viral hot takes, some questions are too dangerous to ask out loud: What's the proper first aid for my toddler’s vampire bite? What should I do if I take a wrong turn on the way to soccer practice and end up in the Cretaceous Period? How can I fend off Godzilla without disrupting my child's nap?

Review:

★★★

This book is... Fine. That's all I'm really left feeling at the end of it.

I like James Breakwell. I follow him on Twitter, and I find his tweets and clip art style comics hilarious. I know this isn't his first book, but it's the first one that I've read. I'm bummed that I was left disappointed.

It's a funny book. There's definitely a sense of Breakwell's sense of humor here. But it peters out as the book goes on. It starts to feel phoned in and not as thoughtful as the first part of the book. It starts to feel redundant and boring, and not as funny. Which is a definite shame, because he's a funny guy.

I think there are a lot of parents out there who will relate to this and find it funny. There's clearly an audience for it. But for me, it was just sort of meh and there won't be much I remember about it now that I've finished reading it.

Review: Rhett & Link's Book of Mythicality by Rhett McLaughlin & Link Neal

Title: Rhett & Link's Book of Mythicality: A Field Guide to Curiosity, Creativity, and Tomfoolery
Authors: Rhett McLaughlin & Link Neal
Format: Hardcover, 272 pages
Pub. Date: October 12th 2017
Source: Half Price Books


Book Description:

“Internetainers” Rhett & Link met in first grade when their teacher made them miss recess for writing profanity on their desks, and they have been best friends ever since. Today, their daily YouTube talk show, Good Mythical Morning, is the most-watched daily talk show on the Internet, and nearly 12 million subscribers tune in to see the guys broadcast brainy trivia, wild experiments, and hilarious banter (not to mention the occasional cereal bath). Now the award-winning comedians are finally bringing their “Mythical” world to the printed page in their first book.

A hilarious blend of autobiography, trivia, and advice, Rhett & Link's Book of Mythicality: A Field Guide to Curiosity, Creativity, and Tomfoolery will offer twenty ways to add “Mythicality” to your life, including:

Eat Something That Scares You
Make a Bold Hair Choice
Invent Something Ridiculous
Say “I Love You” Like It's Never Been Said
Speak at Your Own Funeral

The goal of these offbeat prompts? To learn new things, laugh more often, and earn a few grown-up merit badges along the way. Heartfelt and completely original, this book will be the perfect gift for anyone looking for a fresh dose of humor and fun.

Review:

★★★★

This is by far the best YouTuber book that I've read. I always try and give them chances and I'm usually left disappointed with the result. I was so happy that with Rhett and Link, this wasn't the case. The Book of Mythicality is an odd book, but in a good way. It's their YouTube show, Good Mythical Morning , in a nutshell. It's a mix of history of Rhett and Link's relationship over the course of the 30+ year friendship they've forged, advice, just for fun sections, and a lot of photos and personal notes. It's a very wide mix, but it all gels together well to be pretty on brand for them.

For me, the photos were the coolest part. That's not to say the advice and writings aren't good- they are! But when you watch the same two dudes every weekday morning, day after day, for years you get attached to them. Seeing personal artifacts and pictures opens up the door of who they are and what made them, well, them. It was cool to see how much they've changed and what they've been through.

It's written with a lot of humor, but more importantly, a lot of heart. It's clear from the tone of the writing in this book that Rhett and Link really wanted to share this book with the world. It reads like something they are really happy about and proud of- I think this is something that sets it apart among other YouTuber books too. A lot of them have felt forced or uninvolved, like they're simply fulfilling the obligation of their publishing contract.This book feels so genuine and sincere, that it's impossible not to smile and take the advice to heart, even if it is something silly like "eat something that scares you" (something they know all too well, if you're familiar with their program).

If you are a mythical beast, then I think you'll like this book. If you've never watched Good Mythical Morning.... I honestly have no idea if you'll like it or not, haha. It's a quick read that's easy to stop/start/read little bursts of now and then.

Review: My Drunk Kitchen by Hannah Hart

Title: My Drunk Kitchen: A Guide to Eating, Drinking, and Going with Your Gut
Author: Hannah Hart
Format: Hardcover, 225 pages
Pub. Date: August 12th 2014
Source: Goodwill


Book Description:

One day, lonely cubicle dweller and otherwise bored New York City transplant Hannah Hart decided to make a fake cooking show for a friend back home in California. She opened her laptop, pulled out some bread and cheese, and then, as one does, started drinking. The video was called "Butter Yo Sh*t" and online sensation My Drunk Kitchen was born.

My Drunk Kitchen (the book!) includes recipes, stories, color photographs, and tips and tricks to inspire your own adventures in tipsy cooking. Hannah offers cocktail recommendations, culinary advice (like, remember to turn off the oven when you go to bed), and shares never-before-seen recipes such as:


The Hartwich (Knowledge is ingenuity! Learn from the past!) Can Bake (Inventing things is hard! You don't have to start from scratch!) Latke Shotkes (Plan ahead to avoid a night of dread!) Tiny Sandwiches (Size doesn't matter! Aim to satisfy.) Saltine Nachos (It's not about resources! It's about being resourceful.)
In the end, My Drunk Kitchen may not be your go-to guide for your next dinner party . . . but it will make you laugh and drink . . . I mean think . . . about life.

Review:

★★★

I really like Hannah Hart. I used to watch a lot of her My Drunk Kitchen videos in college. I appreciate her quirky sense of humor, her optimism, and (although fairly unrelated to the book at hand) her openness about being LGBT. I was so happy when she got a Food Network show, and I was bummed that it didn't work out for very long.

Unfortunately, I don't think this book is a good representative of her. Or at least, she doesn't translate well into book form.

Calling this a "cookbook" would be very generous. There are technically recipes, yes, but they exist in a weird plane of existence where they are broad concepts as opposed to actual recipes. There's no real rules or measurements or technical help. It's sort of like a choose your own adventure recipe guide.

There's a lot of good advice and quotes and stories about being young. I appreciated those. There's good take aways from this, like being yourself, adulting is hard for everyone, and that it's okay to think outside of the box. But other times, it's sort of just slapped together and hard to follow. Random brainwaves on YouTube certainly work better than on paper, because it's weird to skip thoughts suddenly as you're reading. But Hannah Hart is a funny person, and there's a few laughs tucked away in here.

This book has a strong emphasis on alcohol and drink pairings and stuff like that, but I don't know why that would be surprising given the name of the book and the nature of her YouTube career.

It has nice glossy pages and really nice photos. It's a good quality book, from a publication standpoint.

All in all it was worth a flip through, but I don't imagine it's anything I'll actually reference in my kitchen. It's not quite cookbook, not quite memoir, in a weird mix mash of a book that I'm not really sure what I am meant to make of it. I feel like I might have really adored this book when I was in college, but it seems a bit removed for me now.

If you're a fan of reading YouTuber books, a fan of Hannah Hart's channel, or are a college student who is trying to figure out what adult life means and how the hell you're supposed to cook things now, then you might appreciate this book. If you're looking for like... An actual cookbook with usable recipes, or if you're unfamiliar with Hannah Hart's other works, then I think this won't be the book for you. There are better out there.

Mini Review: Comics for a Strange World by Reza Farazmand

Title: Comics for a Strange World: A Book of Poorly Drawn Lines
Author: Reza Farazmand
Format: egalley
Pub. Date: October 24th 2017
Source: Plume Books


Book Description:

Absurd comics for our absurd times, from the artist behind the wildly popular webcomic Poorly Drawn Lines.

In his follow up to the New York Times bestselling Poorly Drawn Lines, beloved webcomic artist Reza Farazmand returns with a new collection of comics that hilariously skewers our modern age. Comics for a Strange World takes readers through time, space, and alternate realities, reuniting fans with favorite characters and presenting them with even more bizarre scenarios. A child is arrested for plagiarism. A squirrel adapts to human society by purchasing a cell phone--and a gun. And an old man shares memories of the Internet with his granddaughter ("A vast network of millions of idiots. Together, the idiots created endless shitty ideas. It was a true renaissance of shit."). In the world of Poorly Drawn Lines, nothing is too weird or too outlandish for parody.

Featuring 50% brand new content alongside some of the most popular comics of the past year, Comics for a Strange World is the perfect antidote to life's absurdities.

Review:

★★★

It's hard not to know about Poorly Drawn Lines. These comics show up everywhere: Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr. You name it. And most of the time, I get a little chuckle at them. So I was happy to get a copy of this collection of comics. It's an okay book.

The comics were hit and miss for me. Some were really relatable and made me snicker. Some I didn't find funny at all. It was kind of a mixed bag all around. I will say that in order to fully appreciate these comics, you have to have sort of a dry, cynical sense of humor. And be a little bit weird.

The comics are divided into themes: The Human Experience, Social Creatures, Changes, A Strange World, and Thoughts on Things.

If you're already familiar with the comics, you'd probably appreciate this book. If you're new, it might be a weird thing to read and get used to. In my opinion, if you have it it's worth reading, but it's not something I'd rush out and grab right away.

I received a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Adultolescence by Gabbie Hanna

Title: Adultolescence
Author: Gabbie Hanna
Format: egalley
Pub. Date: September 19th 2017
Source: Publisher


Book Description:

From Teen Choice Award-nominated comedian and vlogger Gabbie Hanna, known on YouTube as The Gabbie Show, an astounding debut poetry collection that captures the essence of what it means to come of age in today’s world.

Full of confessional, whimsical, and darkly humorous observations about life, love, and the early years of adulthood, this collection of over 150 poems, each illustrated by Gabbie herself, will introduce you to the unique point of view of one of the internet’s most remarkable voices.

Review:

★★★

This is the first book by Gabbie Hanna, more commonly known as TheGabbieShow. She's a pretty well known YouTuber, and I have to admit I'm a fan of her story time videos. I was happy to get a copy of her book, because I relate to her in a lot of ways. I was pleasantly surprised that it's not just another vlogger biography, but a book of poetry. That's pretty cool.

The book is filled with doodles and artwork that are nice. They look very "something I drew during math class" to me, which works with the title and theme of the book, and they matched well with what was going on in the poems.

The poems themselves for me were hit and miss. They're in different forms- some that rhyme, some that don't, some that are long, some single verse, etc. Some of them were really good and thought provoking, or hit pretty close to home. Others, not so much. Some of them are just kind of one liners that seem like funny tweets or facebook statuses. Some of them also use chat speak, which I "get" but find really irritating.

Some of the poems I liked best are "Dollhouse", "Dolly" and "Worry".

Overall, I enjoyed reading this. It's a pretty short read, but as I mentioned, some poems are longer than others. It's a nice collection to my YouTuber shelf, and I'm sure fans of hers will enjoy it.

I received a copy in exchange for my honest review.

It Gets Worse by Shane Dawson

Title: It Gets Worse: A Collection of Essays
Author: Shane Dawson
Format: Paperback, 256 pages, autographed.
Pub. Date: July 19th 2016
Source: c2e2 / Anderson Books


Book Description:

New York Times bestselling author Shane Dawson returns with another highly entertaining and uproariously funny essay collection, chronicling a mix of real life moments both extraordinary and mortifying, yet always full of heart.

Shane Dawson shared some of his best and worst experiences in I Hate Myselfie, the critically acclaimed book that secured his place as a gifted humorist and keen observer of millennial culture. Fans felt as though they knew him after devouring the New York Times, Publishers Weekly, Los Angeles Times, and Wall Street Journal bestseller. They were right… almost.

In this new collection of original personal essays, Shane goes even deeper, sharing never-before-revealed stories from his life, giving readers a no-holds-barred look at moments both bizarre and relatable, from cult-like Christian after-school activities, dressing in drag, and losing his virginity, to hiring a psychic, clashes with celebrities, and coming to terms with his bisexuality. Every step of the way, Shane maintains his signature brand of humor, proving that even the toughest breaks can be funny when you learn to laugh at yourself.

This is Let's Pretend This Never Happened and Running With Scissors for the millennial generation: an inspiring, intelligent, and brutally honest collection of true stories by a YouTube sensation-turned one of the freshest new voices out there.

Review:

★★★★

This was just the book I needed after my reading slump. Seriously, it's been like a year since I was an active reader. When I saw a signed copy of this at the Anderson's Book booth at C2E2, I couldn't resist.

I'm a big fan of Shane Dawson's YouTube channel, and I wasn't disappointed in this book at all. His dark sense of humor, his passion for film, and his voice are all clear in this collection of essays.

I was pleasantly surprised at how much emotion was in this book. I really related to his struggles. A lot of his stories come from his time as a (self-professed) poor fat kid. I was a poor fat kid, so I really understand the things he talked about like "chub rub" and terrible plus sized Goodwill clothes. I also really related to his discussions about his coming to terms with his bisexuality. I identify that way myself, and it's fairly uncommon to read books where it comes up (other than erotica). It's nice knowing sometimes that you're not alone. Like him, I didn't come out until my 20s, and I struggled for a really long time.

I've been watching his YouTube channel for years, and I feel like this book made me learn more about the guy behind the channel. I couldn't help but to read the whole book in his tone, and it made the funny parts even more hilarious, and the sad parts even more heartfelt.

I liked that each essay was prefaced with a piece of art done by a fan, and a little bio about the artist. I thought this was a really nice way of incorporating his fans into the book, and it was interesting to see everyone's art style, and how the piece related to the topic of the chapter

There were parts where I laughed my ass off- like when he accidentally ended up in Mexico, or when he started to delve into the world of online hookups. There were parts where I even teared up, like in the last essay when his mom wrote about how proud she was of the man he's become, or when he hired a medium to talk to a deceased relative.

Overall, I'd say if you're familiar with Shane Dawson and are a fan, pick up this book. If you're new to him, you'll still enjoy it, but be warned that it's full of, shall we say, blue humor. Lots of sex jokes and swearing. For me, this is a plus. For others, maybe not so much. It's also worth mentioning that I have not read his first book "I Hate Myselfie". I didn't feel like I was missing anything without it.

Review: The Facebook Diet by Gemini Adams

Title: The Facebook Diet: 50 Funny Signs of Facebook Addiction and Ways to Unplug with a Digital Detox

Author: Gemini Adams

Format: Spiral-bound, 175 pages

Pub. Date: January 1st 2014

Source: TT @ Never Ending Stories



Book Description via Goodreads:

Award-winning author and illustrator, Gemini Adams, inspires us to examine the health of our high-tech habits in this entertaining gift book with a tongue-in-cheek look at our love of social media.

This Mom's Choice Gold Award winning book features a series of 50 hilarious cartoons that complete the question, "You Know You're a Facebook Addict When...?" in which Adams cleverly illustrates the more idiotic, embarrassing and cringe-worthy behaviors of our social networking excess.

Packed with funny digital detox tips that gently 'poke' at readers to unplug once in a while, this laugh-out-loud gift book is guaranteed to bring a smile of recognition to Facebook junkies everywhere!

Review:

★

This is one of those rare times where I feel like I read an entirely different book than everyone else. I didn't find it funny at all. It's not that I didn't get where the humor was supposed to be, I got it. It just wasn't funny. The first half of the book is completions to the sentence "You might be addicted to Facebook if..." The second half is a "diet" of how to stop logging so much time online.

First of all, I didn't care for the illustrations. I thought they were pretty badly done. Plus, it was unnecessarily crass more than once. Regular readers of my reviews know I'm no prude: I read quite a lot of erotica and the like. So it's not an "I'm offended" thing. But there were two drawings of female nudity that didn't add anything- it wasn't funny. There's also a toilet with stink lines. Classy.

This book is already a few years old, and it shows. There's a few "jokes" about poking.... Do people still poke? That was a thing when Facebook first got popular but I honestly forgot that was even a feature.

Some of them weren't even worth a smile. Such as, the guy with a gun to his head at his birthday party because he didn't get enough birthday wishes on his wall. (See the above note about being dated- it's a timeline, not a wall). There's one about needing therapy after reading about perfect friends- that's an actual study being done, because that shit actually DOES lead to depression.

Some of them just aren't accurate, in addition to not being funny. Wrist strain, for example, is not Facebook-specific. There's one that says you've given up addictions like smoking and drinking to Facebook. Because one can't drink at a desk?

Some of them actually sound like people who have never had Facebook before, not addicts. One says "you don't know where your privacy settings are". If you're addicted, you know EVERYTHING about these filters, and you've made lists and posts locked to certain people that now by this point, you can censor yourself with ease. Also, that you send friend requests to everyone. Nope. That shit's not safe. There's a difference between being addicted, and being clueless as to how the interwebs work.

The second half is full of mostly silly and overdramatic for humor's sake things that one can do instead of being on Facebook, like being a PI so you can stalk people in real life. Not really funny, but I get what they were going for. However, in this "diet" that stresses unplugging and going outside, they actually promote other websites...... What? Seriously?

I honestly have no idea who this book is for. It's not for young addicts, that's for sure. The only demographic I can maybe see getting a chuckle out of this book are those old relatives who don't really know how things work, but still won't get off of Facebook.

I don't recommend it as a gift or a stocking stuffer, unless you know a woman as oblivious as this book is.

#31DaysofReading Book Review: #scandal by Sarah Ockler

Title: #scandal
Author: Sarah Ockler
Format: ebook
Pub. Date: June 17th 2014
Source: SimonPulse via PulseIt #31daysofreading

Description via Goodreads:

Lucy’s learned some important lessons from tabloid darling Jayla Heart’s all-too-public blunders: Avoid the spotlight, don’t feed the Internet trolls, and keep your secrets secret. The policy has served Lucy well all through high school, so when her best friend Ellie gets sick before prom and begs her to step in as Cole’s date, she accepts with a smile, silencing about ten different reservations. Like the one where she’d rather stay home shredding online zombies. And the one where she hates playing dress-up. And especially the one where she’s been secretly in love with Cole since the dawn of time.

When Cole surprises her at the after party with a kiss under the stars, it’s everything Lucy has ever dreamed of… and the biggest BFF deal-breaker ever. Despite Cole’s lingering sweetness, Lucy knows they’ll have to ’fess up to Ellie. But before they get the chance, Lucy’s own Facebook profile mysteriously explodes with compromising pics of her and Cole, along with tons of other students’ party indiscretions. Tagged. Liked. And furiously viral.

By Monday morning, Lucy’s been branded a slut, a backstabber, and a narc, mired in a tabloid-worthy scandal just weeks before graduation.

Lucy’s been battling undead masses online long enough to know there’s only one way to survive a disaster of this magnitude: Stand up and fight. Game plan? Uncover and expose the Facebook hacker, win back her best friend’s trust, and graduate with a clean slate.

There’s just one snag—Cole. Turns out Lucy’s not the only one who’s been harboring unrequited love...

★★★★


There's a lot of books out there lately that have to deal with the idea of cyberbullying. Understandably so, as it's growing easier, more common, and harder to regulate or discipline. I've read quite a few of them with overall little favor, but I have to admit, this is one of the books of the ones that I have read that I feel best narrates and addresses the problem.

What made the biggest difference to me, in regards to this young adult piece of fiction feeling more authentic, is that these awful pictures of the characters in this book are posted to Facebook. Facebook and Instagram are cited by name. This sounds like it's not a big deal, but it helps so much. I personally find it harder to connect to a book when they try and make up a "hot social networking site". It just sounds silly to me. But Facebook is a site that most of us are so dependent on that using it specifically hits just a bit harder to home.

Another way that this book is set apart from other books on similar topics is the main character: she actually learns something. She grows and she fights back and she changes over the course of the story, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. But she doesn't take this scandal just lying down and she doesn't just shut down about it. She talks about it (at least a little) and she tries to find out the truth to clear her name and to apologize, in a way, to the people who were victimized just as much as she was. I liked this about Lucy tremendously.

There were a lot of plot threads to follow here and a lot going on, but to me that just kept it engaging and made it harder to look away from. I never felt that it got muddled or confused at all. Emotions ran high, and widely varied ones too. I felt anger towards some characters, annoyance at others, sympathy, and support, and hope and vengeance. I felt attached to these characters, like their scandal was somehow at my old high school. I was cheering for Cole and Lucy even at times when I probably shouldn't have been. That's just the mark of good writing and good world building. I also felt that the slang/dialog was really believable. Teenagers totally could have written these conversations.

That being said, this is another book that features well-off students and even ties into a celebrity. I felt a slight disconnect on that level. My high school was on the poorer side, and while the fantasy prom theme of this book sounds absolutely amazing, it's a little bit harder to relate to characters who get shopping sprees from their rich sister or who get the latest technology from out of the country. I feel like in a school where there's horse stables and this elaborate of parties, there'd be a lot more lawyers involved in this scandal. The celebrity plot tied in relatively well to the overall theme of being in the spotlight and being judged constantly, but it felt like a little much.

While I liked this book in the present setting in which I read it (2014), I'm not sure how this book will hold up in the future. When cites are created, hyped, and destroyed so easily and when laws and rules are popping up so frequently. This is neither a positive nor a negative point towards the book, just a personal reflection.

This is a book I'd recommend to fans of realistic YA. Be warned that this book contains some pretty heavy themes, such as sex, drugs, alcohol, and cyberbullying. If you enjoyed Send by Patty Blount, I think you'll enjoy this one too. Thanks to Simon Teen / Pulseit.com for the chance to read this during #31daysofreading.

Review: People I Want to Punch in the Throat by Jen Mann

Title: People I Want to Punch in the Throat: True(ish) Tales of an Overachieving Underachiever
Author: Jen Mann
Format: egalley
Pub. Date: September 9th 2014
Source: Netgalley & Ballantine Books


★★★★

Four stars.

---

People I Want to Punch in the Throat is a collection of essays by the author of the blog by the same name, Jen Mann. These essays are written with an edgy, clever sense of humor and they cover topics that we can all relate to, such as meeting a spouse or dealing with the crazy army of room moms at an elementary school.

I admit, I wasn't too sure how I'd like this book. It's true that the title is hilarious, and honestly who doesn't love a book with a cupcake on the cover? I was nervous about how I would "get" the humor of things I haven't necessarily experienced, like raising children. I am happy to say that I had nothing to worry about. Jen and I have the same snarky, often overlooked type of sense of humor that made me want to buy her a drink so I can hear more of these stories first hand.

Each "chapter" is an essay, so it tells another separate story. Plus, the headings/titles are also hilarious in and of themselves. Mann writes about things that are true to life, and yet somehow seem ridiculous. I think we all have that one friend where we think "wow, that would only happen to you." Mann is that friend, and the results are hilarious. I believe that's part of why this book is so humorous- because it's nonfiction. All of these shenanigans and conversations really happened, and that makes it just so much better. I definitely laughed out loud more than once, and I would have to pause my reading to share a quote with my girlfriend. I was drawn in by the tale of her meeting her husband in an AOL chat room in the good ole dial up days, and I was hooked for the rest of the ride.

A lot of these quotes came from her daughter, who sounds like the cutest little bundle of diva-sass. Jen, in addition to her own personal stories, shares stories involving her daughter, son, and husband. They're each funny in their own little ways. The daughter is a fireball of pink and attitude, the boy is a "big fat liar" (her words, not mine!), and her husband is uptight with finances. They're each quirky and funny, but despite all that you can tell from her writing that this big ole pile of personality is her family, and that she cares for them a lot.

This read is a quick one, and because it's chunked into different essays, it's easy to pause or stop for awhile and come back to reading. If you follow her blog, love a good story about a co-worker's "swingers" Fourth of July party, or have your own stories of your kids that you can relate to, this is a book for you. It's written bluntly and with heavy doses of sarcasm and jokes, so pour yourself a glass of wine and prepare to be amused.

Thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Some Boys by Patty Blount

Title: Some Boys
Author: Patty Blount
Format: egalley
Pub. Date: August 5th 2014
Source: Netgalley & Sourcebooks Fire


★★★

Three stars.

---

When Grace accuses the most popular and loved boy in the school of rape, the school turns its back on her. Bullied, harassed, and alone, her life becomes one of torment and ridicule. She gets in trouble and is forced to clean lockers over a school break, since another student is already being punished with the same task. That person is none other than Ian, the best friend of her rapist and the boy she's had a crush on since before the attack. They grow closer, but will Ian ever believe her, and will Grace ever learn to trust again?

Let me start this review by saying this rating was a hard one for me. I really, really liked some of the components of this novel, but there was far more that frustrated or annoyed me. All in all, I think the two balanced out in the end, giving it a neutral three out of five. I'll start with the good first, keeping spoilers to a minimum.

I really liked Grace as a character. Instead of letting the schoolmates win and keeping her head down or moving away, she continues to go to school, continues to hold her head up, and sticks with her story: that Zac attacked her against her will. When her friends abandon her and start calling her a slut, she tries not to let it show that it bothers her. She never stops searching for the proof and closure that she needs, and she remains the black, leather, stud wearing bad ass that she is. I really, really like that.

I also liked Ian. He was a complete jerk at times- that's true. But I think it's a believable level of mean. He's torn between believing the school "slut" and liar that he's finding himself attracted to, as well as the word of his best friend and teammate. He flip flops a bit, but I think it's a fair amount of inner turmoil, even though I of course hated him in the moments when he chose Zac over Grace. I liked their romance together, and see no issue with the concept of her feeling this way towards him. Rape doesn't mean you're not allowed to ever like a boy again.

The writing itself was fairly well done, with the chapters in duel POV, alternating between Ian and Grace. The one thing that did bug me about this is that sometimes the same conversation was held twice, without really offering more information. It grew a bit redundant.

Now, as for the not so good parts. The ending. Everything was way too sugar coated and cheery. Everyone just acts like nothing happened, and she forgives some of the closest people to her who have treated her like garbage for so long. I didn't like that. Not only did it feel rushed, but big person or not I feel Grace isn't the kind to do that. I was unpleasantly surprised.

I also don't understand the lack of concern towards Grace's rape. Why was Zac not arrested for posting lewd, underage material on the internet? Why did Facebook not delete the pornographic video? Why is the video not evidence enough? Why was Zac not punished at all? Where was his mother? In an fairly affluent town in which kids have Mustangs, in-ground pools, and Europe trips- why was no one sued for all of this suffering and bullying? It all just felt like there was a serious glaring hole as to why he was able to get away with the taunting, and the act itself. Plus, not one person supports her. Her mother thinks she should apologize, her dad thinks she asked for it by dressing "for attention", none of the teachers care. It baffles me.

As much as I liked Grace, I really hated some decisions and thoughts that she had. Her big protest, for one, felt out of place and awkward. I felt like it was added in to make the book longer or something. I see what Blount was going for, but it just didn't work for me. Grace, throughout the novel, is very anti-"slut" in that she hates that word. She is also very much against the idea that women are always to blame for why men go rogue. And yet, she calls her stepmom a slut for sleeping with her dad and being a homewrecker, blaming her for the reason why her family is no longer happy and whole. Where is the blame against her father? It takes two to have an affair, and yet Grace both calls her a slut AND blames her.

I think that books involving rape awareness, (cyber)bullying, bullying, and harm are growing increasingly important. And I do think that this book is worth reading more or less. There's a message that needs spreading and awareness to be raised, and I rather liked the romance aspect. However, I had a lot of questions that weren't answered, and it frustrated me greatly throughout the course of the novel. Be warned that this book contains rape, alcohol, bullying, slut-shaming, swearing, and suicide.

Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for giving me a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Rich Kids of Instagram: A Novel

Title: Rich Kids of Instagram: A Novel
Author: The Creator of Rich Kids of Instagram, Maya Sloan
Format: egalley
Pub. Date: July 8th 2014
Source: Netgalley & Gallery Books

★★

One and a half stars.

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When I read the blurb for this book, I thought it sounded really intriguing. I'm out of my teen years now, and I can assure you that they weren't spent in outlandish luxury. I thought this could be a cool (even if fictionalized) look into a world that I wasn't a part in, kind of like the Gossip Girl books. It sounded scandalous and cutthroat, and I looked forward to reading it.

Unfortunately, I was let down once again by a blurb that was more captivating than the actual book. To say this wasn't my cup of tea is an understatement. The first issue was the excessive switching of points of view. I don't mind doing this when it's done well, but because all of the POVs are the same kind of person (the snooty well off teen), it was really difficult to keep them all. That being said, the voice of these characters was really irritating to me. I'm down for bad language, but it was thrown in to places where it didn't really add anything. On top of that, the dialogue between characters sounded so forced and plastic most of the time. I found it hard to get into the allure of senseless sex, scandal, and drugs because it was presented so annoyingly.

Also filed under the "ugh" category is the amount of times a character was referred to as being rich. I kind of figured as much. I mean, it's the name of the book. The book about the inner circle and lives of rich teens. It's a safe assumption that the people they know (which are name dropped constantly by the way) are rich too. I get it.

It did gain some stars in its rating, though, because it did keep me reading, and I have to admit I did like the pictures that were included. I also really like the cover design. I know that's not how you should judge a book, but it does overall sum up the general plot of the stories within its pages.

As someone who was previously unfamiliar with this website that apparently has been mentioned all over the place, this book was not for me. I'm not entirely sure what age group this book is aimed for, but even though it is about teens be warned that there is a lot of profanity, sex, and drugs. Thanks to Netgalley and Gallery Books for my copy in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Tween Hobo: Off the Rails

Title: Tween Hobo: Off the Rails
Author: Alena Smith, Kate Harmer
Format: egalley
Pub. Date: June 17th 2014
Source: Netgalley & Gallery Books

★★

Two and a half stars.

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Tween Hobo is a book based on the Twitter account @TweenHobo, which follows the tales of a fifth grader who decides that she's had enough of her life in school and starts anew, jumping onto a freight train to travel the rails. Complete with both tweets and prose, this is a book that combines a Justin Beiber obsession of epic proportions, social media, and life stretched across America with snark, humor, and a sense of style.

I think my main issue with this book is that I have no idea who this book's intended audience is. On the surface, it's clearly a middle grade book. The little hobo protagonist is young, has obsessions with things like Twitter, Beiber, glitter, rainbows, and nail polish. So many girls have been through that phase. And yet, there's vocabulary and humor that seems geared towards adults. There's talk of cathouses and women of the night, and the word "dick" is used. Don't get me wrong, I'm not stranger to these themes or language, but when I'm expecting a breezy middle grade read, it's off-putting. Is it satirical? Maybe. I was left laughing at parts because it was humor I got, but then it turned to frustration because I'm not so sure a kid would find it funny for the same reasons.

Though I knew going in that this book was based off of social media, the obsession was a bit much. I don't think anyone should be quite so attached to the internet and social networking as she is, I don't care whether you're twelve or 57. The Beiber obsession, however, was completely dead on. I know girls that age who feel very much the same way about him, for whatever reason.

I found her humor at times to be brilliant. She sometimes seemed like a wise little adult. But then it would go back to talk of tweets and spelling words with z's at the end instead of s's and then the charm would be gone. It was cute at times but also glaringly unrealistic; no parents came after her, her phone was always charged and attached to wi-fi, etc.

I have no idea who to recommend this to, other than Beiber fans or Twitter fanatics. What age? I've got not a clue. All in all, I feel like a book isn't necessary. If you follow the Twitter account, you'll get a sense of the book, and in my opinion it could have all just stayed there.

Thanks to Netgalley and Gallery Books for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review: 4 to 16 Characters

Title: 4 to 16 Characters
Author: Kelly Hourihan
Format: egalley
Pub. Date: November 6th 2013
Source: Netgalley & Lemon Sherbet Press

★★

Two stars.

4 to 16 Characters is a book that follows teenager Jane as her life sinks into a dark place. Her mother has passed away and her dad's hit the bottle to cope, and Jane isn't all too sure what to do with it. She hates life, hates school, hates people in general. The one thing she doesn't hate? The internet and fanfiction. She escapes into the world of fake profiles on the internet, pretending to be someone she's not to deal with it all. She struggles with this as she makes a "real life" friend, and she has to learn how best to take care of her problems.

I really like the concept of this book. This book isn't written in standard prose, but in the form of emails, blog posts, and other forms of modern social media. I also liked the idea of a main character that toys around with false identities online. I practically live on my computer, and I know this is a thing that occurs more often than most think. However, there was one main disconnect for me that made me not enjoy this book: the main character.

Connecting to a character is something that's extremely important to me and my reading experience. And while I can relate to Jane in some regards, I largely just couldn't stand her. I understand that the point of her "catfish" tendencies on the internet are to help her cope with stressful real life events. I don't blame her. I became addicted to the internet after my parents' divorce for similar reasons (though with no fake profiles). But I found her brooding and hatred for, well, everything, to be over the top. I found myself thinking, "Okay, I get it, you're unhappy". I didn't think her writing was very good for being a fanfiction author. I understand a lot of this is "written" online, but it was irritating to read her private dialogue with herself.

Unlike Jane, I don't dabble in writing fanfiction. However, I do post in online role-playing forums. So, I am familiar with the online hierarchies among users- how some are royalty and others running jokes. I thought that bit was fairly well represented. There are some people that you never want to upset, and others that you want to befriend so you can be in the inner circle. I immediately thought of a few people when Jane mentioned this construct. However, because I am in a different corner of the web so to speak, I was kind of lost at parts. She mentions writing a "drabble"- something I had to look up. I've never heard a short writing referred to as this in my communities, nor had my girlfriend. The book assumes you have a working knowledge of how it all works when I honestly don't.

There were quite a few things I liked about this book individually, but when brought together it just wasn't the book for me. I think that if you are in the fanfiction area of the internet, you may like it more than I did. Thanks to Netgalley and Lemon Sherbet Press for my review copy.