This Tiny Perfect World - Review

This Tiny Perfect World

By: Lauren Gibaldi

Expected Publication: February 27th 2018 by HarperTeen

304 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

Source: Publisher via Edelweiss (Thank you!!)

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--Penny loves her small-town Florida life—including her boyfriend, Logan, whom everyone expects her to marry. And when she lands a scholarship to the prestigious theater camp of her dreams to explore her love of acting, it’s the beginning of a summer that will change her life. But when she arrives at camp, Penny is thrust into a world of competition and self doubt. And as she meets new friends, including Chase, a talented young actor with big-city dreams, she begins to realize that her own dreams may be bigger than she ever imagined.

Lauren Gibaldi tells the story of a transformative summer for a girl who discovers just how wide the world really is and that maybe the life everyone expects her to lead may not be the one she was meant to have.

This Tiny Perfect World is the third book by Lauren Gibaldi that I've read. While I can't say that Lauren Gibaldi is a favorite author of mine having read these three books, I can say that she's fairly consistent. The biggest correlation between the three books that I've read (The Night We Said Yes and Autofocus) is "coming of age". For some reason coming of age stories aren't usually my favorite. So I don't fault Lauren Gibaldi's writing so much as the plot for these types of stories. The purpose of these types of books is to show how the character grows from the place where they begin the story over a series of conflicts that allow them to learn a lesson resulting in "growing up."

The description of This Tiny Perfect World led me to a few false conclusions about Penny. Without spoiling things for you, I tend to assume that when a character is in a romantic relationship at the beginning of a book then the relationship is doomed. Penny begins the book with a boyfriend yet he's not who the description mentions so I just assumed that Logan was destined to be dropped like a bomb. Things don't go how I expected, but they aren't as far off from what I imagined as they could have been. Logan, himself, was a bit of a struggle for me as a character because he was so whiny and insecure. I struggle with this type of person in real life and I find them doubly annoying in books as well.

As a typical coming of age story, Penny does have quite some growing to do. One of my favorite aspects is how she developed some new friendships without dropping and moving on from her existing friends. Just because she's expanding her view of the world and her potential future doesn't mean that she has to leave her old world and friends completely behind. Although, Penny does have a lot of growing and learning about herself left to do.

My biggest frustration over This Tiny Perfect World centers around Penny's father and his storyline. It was predictable to me, yet I found myself struggling for multiple reasons. My faith for one, but beyond that....Penny finds out a huge secret about her father. And from someone who has had a parent keep a pretty big secret, this isn't so easily blown off as Penny allows it to be. When anyone keeps a giant secret from you, it causes conflict and trust issues that aren't so easily overcome. And you can't just say "I'm the same person you thought I was...well except this part of me" and have that fly. I mean have you guys ever watched a single episode of Catfish? Nine times out of ten the person being deceived can't get over the huge lie that they've been told just because the other person tells them that their feelings toward them were real. Yet, I feel like more than anything, Lauren Gibaldi was taking the politically correct stance on this issue. Because how dare Penny actually take issue with the fact that her father has kept this part of himself secret from her. How dare she possibly be upset by this revelation. No one is allowed to be in control of their own feelings because the media and modern culture has determined that only one response to a situation like this is acceptable. So my issue is that I felt Penny was forced to feel one way because of the political correctness of our time, yet I felt that her response wasn't authentic from the standpoint of someone who's experienced a huge relationship shaking revelation from a parent before.

All of this being said, This Tiny Perfect World was not my favorite book. I read it at a decent speed, but "coming of age" stories just aren't my preference. I don't find that I enjoy reading books that are just about the character learning a lesson or growing only just for the sake of learning a lesson. While I did find Penny's father's secret to be predictable, I didn't feel her response to his revelation to be authentic. I was torn on how things went down with Logan. While things didn't go as I expected, I can't say that I loved what did happen. In the end, This Tiny Perfect World gets 2.5 Stars. Have you read This Tiny Perfect World? What did you think? Let me know!

Can't Wait for This Tiny Perfect World

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings to spotlight and talk about the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they're books that have yet to be released as well. It's based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine. Find out more here.

This Tiny Perfect World

By: Lauren Gibaldi

Expected Publication: February 27th 2018 by HarperTeen

304 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--Penny loves her small-town Florida life—including her boyfriend, Logan, whom everyone expects her to marry. And when she lands a scholarship to the prestigious theater camp of her dreams to explore her love of acting, it’s the beginning of a summer that will change her life. But when she arrives at camp, Penny is thrust into a world of competition and self doubt. And as she meets new friends, including Chase, a talented young actor with big-city dreams, she begins to realize that her own dreams may be bigger than she ever imagined.

Lauren Gibaldi tells the story of a transformative summer for a girl who discovers just how wide the world really is and that maybe the life everyone expects her to lead may not be the one she was meant to have.

I've read two Lauren Gibaldi before and enjoyed them both. She's really good at coming of age stories. I don't love the cover for this one, but I want to check it out. What are you guys waiting on this week? Let me know!

Autofocus - Review

Autofocus

By: Lauren Gibaldi

Published: June 14th 2016 by Harper Teen

352 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

Source: Publisher via Edelweiss (Thank you!!)

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--From the author of The Night We Said Yes comes a fun and heartfelt YA contemporary tale. When Maude decides to search for information about her birth mother, she finds out more than she expected. Perfect for fans of Stephanie Perkins and Susane Colasanti.

Family. It’s always been a loaded word for Maude, whose birth mother died after giving her up for adoption. With her best friend, Treena, in college in the same town where her birth mother grew up, Maude decides to visit and explore her past. But when Maude arrives, she quickly discovers that Treena doesn’t seem to have time for her—or for helping with her search. Enter Bennett, a cute guy who lives in Treena’s dorm. He understands Maude’s need to find her mother. And as Bennett helps Maude, she starts to realize that her mother’s past doesn’t have to define her own future.

I was pleasantly surprised with Lauren Gibaldi's release last year, The Night We Said Yes. So when I saw Autofocus avaliable for review I was excited to see what was next for Lauren Gibaldi.

Stories about adoption and the journey to find out how much of one's self is from birth and how much is learned is not entirely original. Even though I'm not adopted, I cannot imagine not being curious about my birth family had I been. And that's exactly what's going on with Maude. She's been assigned a photography project about family and she just feels like not exploring her birth family would be leaving out a huge part of herself from the project. The problem is Maude knows very little about her birth mother and nothing about her birth father. The only real thing that Maude knows is that her birth mother went to college for a brief time at FSU in Tallahassee. Fortunately for her, her best friend Treena currently attends FSU.

Autofocus wasn't really about learning about her mother so much as Maude learning about herself. It was one of those "coming of age" stories. And even though those are usually not my favorite, Autofocus is one of the exceptions. Well I mean, it's still not really a "favorite", but it was a decent and enjoyable finding yourself story.

And it's not just Maude, but Maude's friend, Treena, is also going through a similar journey of finding herself. She's not searching for her birth family because she's not adopted, but she's trying to figure out who she is apart from her parents and even apart from Maude. I was frustrated with Treena through a lot of Autofocus, especially, how quickly she was to settle for less than she deserved.

During Maude's trip, Treena was supposed to be there to help her out. Unfortunately, Treena is at the very beginning of a new relationship. You know the one. The stage where nothing else matters but spending time with the new love interest. I can totally relate, but I'm also so glad that I don't have to endure that stage anymore myself. Because Treena's a bit preoccupied, Maude spends most of her journey discovering herself and her story with Bennett, a friend of Treena's from school.

Bennett was great. He's there for Maude in a way that can't help but bond the two together. Of course, feelings develop. And I really enjoyed the build of their friendship to more.

Autofocus is a "coming of age"/"finding yourself" story about a girl trying to learn how much of her is born into her versus how much she's learned and absorbed from her adoptive parents. I could related to her feelings even if I've never experienced those exact feelings myself. I could definitely understand the new relationship feelings and the feelings of a friend you count on not being there. Autofocus left things a bit open ended. Sometimes I prefer my stories to be a bit more wrapped up, and sometimes I like them open. The open ending for Autofocus ended up being a good thing in my opinion. I didn't enjoy this one as much as The Night We Said Yes, but it was still a solid read. Autofocus gets 3.5 Stars from me. Have you read Autofocus? What did you think? Let me know!

The Night We Said Yes - Review

The Night We Said Yes

By: Lauren Gibaldi

Expected Publication: June 16th 2015 by Harper Teen

304 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction

Source: Publisher via Edelweiss (Thank you!!)

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--A fun, romantic read, perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen and Susane Colasanti!

Before Matt, Ella had a plan. Get over a no-good ex-boyfriend. Graduate from high school without any more distractions. Move away from Orlando, Florida, where she’s lived her entire life.

But Matt—the cute, shy, bespectacled bass player who just moved to town—was never part of that plan.

And neither was attending a party that was crashed by the cops just minutes after they arrived. Or spending an entire night saying “yes” to every crazy, fun thing they could think of.

Then Matt abruptly left town, and he broke not only Ella’s heart but those of their best friends, too. So when he shows up a year later with a plan of his own—to relive the night that brought them together—Ella isn’t sure whether Matt’s worth a second chance. Or if re-creating the past can help them create a different future.

In alternating then and now chapters, debut author Lauren Gibaldi crafts a charming, romantic story of first loves, lifelong friendships, uncovered secrets, and, ultimately, finding out how to be brave.

The Night We Said Yes is another one of those books where I feel like the description is slightly off. I’ve never read Sarah Dessen or Susane Colasanti so I can’t speak to the comparison there. But the next paragraph says that “Before Matt, Ella had a plan.” Um…not really. Sure, “Get over a no-good ex-boyfriend” maybe have been a thought in her head, but it didn’t really seem like there was much of a plan there. But “Graduate without any more distractions. Move away from Orlando, Floriday, where’s she’s lived her entire life,” didn’t really appear in the form of a plan until “After Matt.” This big “plan” that the description speaks of just didn’t really exist. Yeah, Ella’s more low-key and laid-back than her best friend, Meg, but Ella and Meg seem to regularly go out to parties and such. Most of those parties don’t get broken up by the cops, but it’s not like Ella was this cookie-cutter, organized, plan follower at this point.

One things the description does have right is that The Night We Said Yes basically takes place in the span of two nights. There’s the “then” night when Ella and Matt meet. Ella, Meg, Meg’s on-again-off-again boyfriend Jake, and Matt spend the night saying “yes” to just about anything that’s suggested. And then there’s the “now” night when Matt shows back up in town and he wants to relive the night that he and Ella met in hopes of reconnecting with her. What the description fails to indicate is that there was a length of time between when Matt comes to town and he and Ella develop a relationship and when he leaves thus breaking her heart. I think the description is a little misleading and might have some readers worried about insta-love. While there is insta-attraction, Ella and Matt definitely start a relationship the first night they meet, there’s also a span of about 6 months that they have to continue to learn about each other and grow their feelings and their relationship before Matt leaves.

I’ve often commented in reviews that books that bounce back and forth chronologically aren’t usually my favorites. In the case of The Night We Said Yes the two events that book bounces back and forth between are so paralleled since Matt is attempting to relive that first night that I didn’t feel like I was getting jerked in and out of two different storylines. The two nights were different enough that I didn’t feel like I was re-reading the same events really, but they were similar enough to feel cohesive and were really about reaching one end goal.

I felt like each of the main characters were really well created. Jake and Meg have a relationship that only they understand. I’m like Ella. I don’t think I could ever be in a relationship like that myself, but yet I found myself rooting for them to work things out. Ella’s trying to get over her heartbreak over Matt leaving. And really it wasn’t so much that he left as that he didn’t make any effort to stay in contact after he left. And he didn’t even have the courage to break up with her before he left. She’s not sure that she can open her heart to him again. Matt is put in the position of a rock and a hard place. I don’t want to give anything about his situation or his reasons away. I don’t know if I fully agree with his choices either way, but I guess I can understand them. In the end, it feels like what matters is that he came back.

Favorite quotes:

-Meg still kind of hates me for my decision, in that best friend sort of way that makes me feel loved.

-Unofficially she may be in charge of protecting me from bullies, but I’m in charge of protecting her from herself.

-I can feel the air between us, both pushing us apart and pulling us in.

The Night We Said Yes was deeper and more enjoyable than I expected it to be. I did actually tear up at one part, but I know for a fact that it was because of the hormones. Sure, it was an emotional scene, but I would have never cried or even teared up over that if I weren’t pregnant. This was a cute, fast, and fun read. The Night We Said Yes gets 4 Stars from me. Have you read The Night We Said Yes? What did you think? Let me know!