Homeschool Friday - The Lemonade War

Homeschool Friday is a feature here at Somewhere Only We Know that showcases books my family reads during homeschool and provides a mini-review for each.

The Lemonade War

By: Jacqueline Davies

Publication: April 23, 2007 by Clarion Books

177 pages

Genre: Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Family

Source: Personal Library

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Goodreads description--For a full hour, he poured lemonade. The world is a thirsty place, he thought as he nearly emptied his fourth pitcher of the day. And I am the Lemonade King.

Fourth-grader Evan Treski is people-smart. He’s good at talking with people, even grownups. His younger sister, Jessie, on the other hand, is math-smart, but not especially good with people. So when the siblings’ lemonade stand war begins, there really is no telling who will win—or even if their fight will ever end. Brimming with savvy marketing tips for making money at any business, definitions of business terms, charts, diagrams, and even math problems, this fresh, funny, emotionally charged novel subtly explores how arguments can escalate beyond anyone’s intent.

Awards: 2009 Rhode Island Children's Book Award, 2007 New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing, North Carolina Children’s Book Award 2011, 2011 Nutmeg Award (Connecticut)

My niece-in-law recommended The Lemonade War to me because it is largely about sibling relationships. Evan and Jessie are brother and sister. Evan is older. He's going into fourth grade. Jessie has just found out that she will be skipping a grade and will be in the same grade as Evan when school starts back. Jessie is nervous to be in class with kids that she doesn't know. Evan has always had her back and helped her when she didn't understand social situations. Jessie is so glad that Evan will be in class with her so she won't be alone and scared. But Evan isn't so happy about this situation. He expects his friends to make fun of him for having his younger sister be in the same class with him. As the summer comes to a close and school is about to start back, tensions rise between the siblings. Jessie doesn't understand why Evan is being so mean to her.

Evan and Jessie have a big fight that ends with them having a lemonade challenge. Whoever sells the most lemonade (as in makes the most amount of money) or reaches $100 first wins. Jessie and Evan go back and forth in methods of selling their lemonade through the last week of summer in order to get the most amount of money they can.

Jessie has a business strategy that she uses to help her. But both are determined not to be the loser. I can't tell you what happens, but I will tell you that Jessie learns some lessons about friendship and about business. Evan learns some lessons about being a big brother. Both learn about loving each other better. It's a heart-warming story that's going to make your kid(s) want to have a lemonade stand.

The Lemonade Stand is a great story about siblings. We don't always get along with our siblings. Sometimes we have to sacrifice for each other because we love our siblings. But also, The Lemonade Stand gave some practical business advice that anyone can implement. My kids loved this story, and of course, they wanted to have a lemonade stand after we finished it. The Lemonade Stand gets 4 Stars. Have you or your children read The Lemonade Stand? What did you think? Let me know!

Into the Rapids - Review

Into the Rapids

By: Ann Braden

Publication: May 13, 2025 by Nancy Paulsen Books

165 pages

Genre: Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!!)

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Goodreads description--Sometimes even a girl who likes to rely only on herself needs to be brave enough to ask for help.

When a superstorm hits Addy’s remote mountain town, knocking out their bridge and cutting them off, she worries that she won’t be able to get to the Survival Camp she’s been looking forward to (the irony!) It’s the camp where her parents met, and she’s eager to hone her skills and honor their legacy. But now there’s no power, and it’s also like a light has been switched off in her mom, who’s triggered by the raging river and memories of Addy’s dad dying in a similar storm.

Addy and her mom have always prided themselves on their self-reliance, so now they feel especially stranded since they’ve never bothered to befriend any neighbors. On the hill where she goes to get cell service, she keeps running into her classmate Caleb. He’s frantic about a missing neighbor, and she’s amazed at how he connects with folks to get help. Then he offers to try to get her to camp—but can she trust him? She’s always thought of him as an enemy. The storm has brought so many questions about her beliefs swirling to the surface, and maybe it’s time to take some leaps of faith. The remarkable string of events that follows includes the greatest survival test Addy has ever faced and the realization that she’s not in this adventure of life alone.

I have been looking into more middle-grade books since my kids are starting to read this range. But what I'm looking for is pretty specific. 

Addy's father died in an accident involving some flooding. Her mom is still struggling to cope, even though Addy was pretty young when it happened. Addy and her mother are pretty secluded from others, even though they have next door neighbors with a kid Addy's age. Caleb gave Addy a nickname that has stuck with her throughout elementary school. Addy blames him for making her a laughing stock among her classmates. 

When a tropical storm causes the river to flood and the community to lose power, Addy fears that she won't be able to make it to survival camp. But only twelve-year-olds are allowed to go. So this is Addy's only shot. Most of all, she wants to beat her father's time so she can sign her name beside his at the wet fire competition. 

Added to Addy's issues is her mother's struggles with coping. Addy has definitely taken more of a parenting role than she needs to. But Addy realized that maybe she and her mom are isolated due to their own choices and not others. Caleb helps Addy realize that she can depend on others and maybe make friends. 

I liked Addy a lot. I liked her survival spirit. She faced adversity with an attitude of figuring out what she could do to improve her situation. Those are the lessons I want my kids to be exposed to.

I will say that there were no messages of anti-God, even though the absence of God during such a disaster scenario was glaringly obvious to me. 

Favorite quotes:

-Grief is funny like that. In lots of books, when someone dies, everyone's just sad. But in real life, there's a lot of anger, too.

-Like how there's a space between every stimulus and response, and in that space is our freedom to choose how we want to respond.

-And why do I avoid other people? Because I'm fine without them? Or worried they won't like me?

Into the Rapids was a good read that had a lot of good messages. I can easily see myself recommending this book to my kids. Into the Rapids gets 4 Stars. Have you read Into the Rapids? What did you think? Let me know!

Homeschool Friday - The Candymakers

Homeschool Friday is a feature here at Somewhere Only We Know that showcases books my family reads during homeschool and provides a mini-review/review for each.

The Candymakers (The Candymakers, # 1)

By: Wendy Mass

Publication: October 5, 2010 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

453 pages

Genre: Children's, Middle Grade, Mystery, Fantasy, Realistic Fiction

Source: Borrowed from the e-library

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Goodreads description--Four children have been chosen to compete in a national competition to find the tastiest confection in the country. Who will invent a candy more delicious than the Oozing Crunchorama or the Neon Lightning Chew?

Logan, the Candymaker's son, who can detect the color of chocolate by touch alone?

Miles, the boy who is allergic to merry-go-rounds and the color pink?

Daisy, the cheerful girl who can lift a fifty-pound lump of taffy like it's a feather?

Or Philip, the suit-and-tie wearing boy who's always scribbling in a secret notebook?

This sweet, charming, and cleverly crafted story, told from each contestant's perspective, is filled with mystery, friendship, and juicy revelations.

The Candymakers starts off pretty similarly to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Four kids have been selected to participate in this candy-making competition. The competition will have many more than 4 contestants, but these four are going to visit the Life Is Sweet candy factory to meet the candymaker and work with the staff to create a new candy creation/recipe. Other contestants from all over the country will work with other candy factories, and then they will all come together for a national candy-making competition. Before I move on, I wanted to note that how the contestants were chosen wasn't specified. And I bring this up because it bugged me not to know. Three out of the four contestants that this story is about had zero prior experience working with candy. Their knowledge was basically starting from scratch.

Each contestant had various reasons why they wanted to participate in the contest and why they wanted to win. But it drove me a little crazy wondering how they were each chosen. When you look at competitions today, especially like the ones on Food Network, the contestants already have prior experience. They aren't totally inexperienced. 

As the description says, we have four contestants, and each contestant has a part of the book where we follow them from day one of the competition up until a central point in a "who done it" kind of method. Then we move into the perspective most needed to advance the storyline. It's hard to discuss because the book is written in a bit of a mystery so I don't want to spoil anything. All of the characters are connected in some way or other which is part of the mystery as well.

The contestants being chosen are kind of like the kids with the golden ticket with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Once they arrive at the factory for the first day of the competition, the characters are given a tour of the factory where they see different rooms needed for the candy-making process. This is also similar to the Wonka Factory. Things aren't quite so magical as Wonka, but still. The candy all has weird names as well.

I read this aloud to my two older kids and they both really enjoyed it. My daughter always looked forward to me reading it. My son wouldn't always look forward to it, but he does a great job of seeing foreshadowing, so he would often spot clues that pointed to answering various mysteries in the book. 

I really underestimated the amount of time it would take me to read this to my kids. At this point, I was only reading to them every other day at bedtime, but during times when the kids had extracurricular activities we often had to skip reading in favor of hurrying off to bed since we'd gotten home late. I started reading this in July 2024 and didn't finish it until December. I will try not to pick books this long to read aloud until I can read them every day or read bigger chunks at one time.

The Candymakers was an enjoyable family read-aloud. It was reminiscent of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory which we've also read aloud together so the kids enjoyed seeing the similarities and differences. The mysteries were fun for the kids to try to figure out. I highly recommend this for young kids. (Mine were 7 and 9 when we finished reading this if that gives you an idea of a target audience.) The Candymakers gets 4 Stars. Have you read The Candymakers? What did you think? Let me know!

Can't Wait for You Don't Know Me But I Know You

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.

You Don't Know Me But I Know You

By: Rebecca Barrow

Expected Publication: August 29th 2017 by HarperTeen

336 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction, Adoption

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

Goodreads description--There’s a box in the back of Audrey’s closet that she rarely thinks about.

Inside is a letter, seventeen years old, from a mother she’s never met, handed to her by the woman she’s called Mom her whole life.

Being adopted, though, is just one piece in the puzzle of Audrey’s life—the picture painstakingly put together by Audrey herself, consisting not only of the greatest family ever but of a snarky, loyal, sometimes infuriating best friend, Rose; a sweet, smart musician boyfriend, Julian; and a beloved camera that turns the most fleeting moments of her day-to-day routine into precious, permanent memories.

But when Audrey realizes that she’s pregnant, she feels something—a tightly sealed box in the closet corners of her heart—crack open, spilling her dormant fears and unanswered questions all over the life she loves.

Almost two decades ago, a girl in Audrey’s situation made a choice, one that started Audrey’s entire story. Now Audrey is paralyzed by her own what-ifs and terrified by the distance she feels growing between her and Rose. Down every possible path is a different unfamiliar version of her life, and as she weighs the options in her mind, she starts to wonder—what does it even mean to be Audrey Spencer?

Rebecca Barrow’s bright, honest debut novel about chance, choice, and unconditional love is a heartfelt testament to creating the future you truly want, one puzzle piece at a time.

What are you guys waiting on this week? Let me know!

Bang - Review

Bang

By: Barry Lyga

Expected Publication: April 18th 2017 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

304 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Contemporary

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (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 heartbreaking novel about living with your worst mistake, from New York Times bestselling author Barry Lyga.

A chunk of old memory, adrift in a pool of blood.
Sebastian Cody did something horrible, something no one--not even Sebastian himself--can forgive. At the age of four, he accidentally shot and killed his infant sister with his father's gun.
Now, ten years later, Sebastian has lived with the guilt and horror for his entire life. With his best friend away for the summer, Sebastian has only a new friend--Aneesa--to distract him from his darkest thoughts. But even this relationship cannot blunt the pain of his past. Because Sebastian knows exactly how to rectify his childhood crime and sanctify his past. It took a gun to get him into this.
Now he needs a gun to get out.
Unflinching and honest, Bang is as true and as relevant as tomorrow's headlines, the story of one boy and one moment in time that cannot be reclaimed.

I really enjoyed Barry Lyga's Jasper Dent series. His writing was so good that I knew I'd be interested in checking out more of his work. The description for Bang immediately made me wonder if "gun control" would be a political statement shoved down my throat throughout this book, but the emotional roller coaster that would surely be involved was enough to make me pick this book up. I was curious to see how Barry Lyga would handle such an emotional topic compared to the twisted nature of Jasper Dent.

Bang hooked me in a way that other books haven't been grabbing my attention. I'm in a bit of a book slump so to read a book in 24 hours is a big thing for me right now. The writing was well done as I expected. And while perhaps there were a few moments that could count as a PA concerning gun control, I didn't truly feel like there was much of an agenda pushed so much as the characters simply reacting to events in a way that felt completely natural given the circumstances. If anything, the political statements made revolved more around Aneesa and her father for their muslim faith than anything else. However, this still didn't bother me as Aneesa and her father were both likeable characters and also simply reacting in a way that felt entirely natural.

As one would expect, Bang is a deeply emotional read. It felt even more emotional for me because Little Girl is right at a year and a half. To imagine having a four year old child shoot and kill your four month old... It is simply heartbreaking for everyone involved. It's impossible as a mother not to be heartbroken by this story...both for the parents, but also for the children. The guilt that everyone involved feels. The father for it being his gun used. Sebastian for having pulled the trigger. The mother for having at one point hated your son. All of it. It is everything you would expect one to feel.

It isn't a surprise that a situation where a 4 year old shoots and kills a 4 month old could cause one to question God. How could a loving God allow such an event to happen? And if He does exist, how could He forgive a young boy for killing his sister? This wasn't a huge part of Bang truthfully there were only two comments made in passing, but as a Christian, I can't help but zero in on these things. Bad things happen in this world because God gave us free-will. Otherwise we'd all be robots running about doing His will. Love isn't much of anything when it is forced upon us. So truthfully LOVE is the reason (through free will) that bad things happen. And when you think about it, maybe it isn't such a big surprise that an infant would die when God allowed His own Son to die (for us). When bad things happen that we don't know how to explain, people often forget what God gave up for us because they're only concerned with how this bad thing has happened to them. Who do we think we are when we expect God to leave us be to live our lives however we want with no concern for Him in the day to day, yet we expect Him to save us from the things that break our hearts or cause us pain? This area of Bang was a slight frustration for me. Though believable and understandable, I'd like to--for once--see a character work through these thoughts and come out on the side of understanding that God is still good even though bad things happen.

Truthfully I didn't highlight much. There were a couple passages I highlighted but don't want to share outside of the context, and then there were the two religious references I highlighted so that I could note my frustration. But I will share this quote:

-And this is the moment to kiss her, but this is the moment never, ever to kiss her. Because to kiss her now is to seal it with pain and shame, and nothing grows well or true or right in that blend of fertilizer.

Overall Bang was an emotional read for me. I liked seeing how Sebastian was both stuck in the past and trying desperately to move forward. While I did enjoy this book overall, I'm not sure who I would recommend it to. Someone who is simply looking for an emotional and thought-provoking read I suppose. Ultimately, Bang gets 4 Stars from me. Have you read Bang? What did you think? Let me know!

Waiting on Bang

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Bang

By: Barry Lyga

Expected Publication: April 18th 2017 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

304 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, 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--A heartbreaking novel about living with your worst mistake, from New York Times bestselling author Barry Lyga.

A chunk of old memory, adrift in a pool of blood.
Sebastian Cody did something horrible, something no one--not even Sebastian himself--can forgive. At the age of four, he accidentally shot and killed his infant sister with his father's gun.
Now, ten years later, Sebastian has lived with the guilt and horror for his entire life. With his best friend away for the summer, Sebastian has only a new friend--Aneesa--to distract him from his darkest thoughts. But even this relationship cannot blunt the pain of his past. Because Sebastian knows exactly how to rectify his childhood crime and sanctify his past. It took a gun to get him into this.
Now he needs a gun to get out.
Unflinching and honest, Bang is as true and as relevant as tomorrow's headlines, the story of one boy and one moment in time that cannot be reclaimed.

I really enjoyed Barry Lyga's Jasper Dent series, but I worry this one might come off feeling political. I'm interested in checking it out though. What are you waiting on this week? Let me know!

Me Before You - Review (w/ Movie Commentary)

Me Before You (Me Before You, # 1)

By: Jojo Moyes

Published: December 31st 2012 by Pamela Dorman Books/Viking (first published January 5th 2012)

481 pages

Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction

Source: Borrowed from the library

( 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--Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.

What Lou doesn't know is she's about to lose her job or that knowing what's coming is what keeps her sane.

Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he's going to put a stop to that.

What Will doesn't know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they're going to change the other for all time.

I rarely do this, but I saw Me Before You (the movie) before I read the book. It was more of a timing issue really. I had the book on hold at the library, but it wasn't available to me to read yet, and I really wanted to see the movie in the theater with my friend Paula. I knew I still planned to read it so I wasn't too worried about seeing the movie first.

So as the description says, Lou's been working at a local cafe for several years. And she's been dating the same guy for 6 years. Even though she might not categorize her life as exceptional, she is comfortable, and even content for the most part. But The Buttered Bun closes and Lou loses her job. However, her family depends on her income. She must find another job as soon as possible. After trying everything that Job Center has available for her, she ends up on a job interview to take care of a quadriplegic man.

Will was the definition of a physical man before his accident. He went skiing and skydiving. He climbed mountains. So when an accident with a motorcycle injures him to the point of having only minimal ability to use one arm (he pretty much doesn't have the use of his body or limbs from the chest down), he doesn't see how he can live a life stuck in a wheelchair. But it's more than that. There's constant pain and humiliation, extra infections and illnesses. There are many new changes to his life and body that have turned Will into a bitter, angry man.

Lou is determined to continue her job as Will's caretaker despite his horrible attitude for the sake of her family. They need the money and this is the most well-paying job she's ever had. But Lou stumbles upon some secrets that the Traynor family meant to keep, and that changes everything for Lou. She becomes a woman on a mission. Her mission: show Will that life can be worth living even if it isn't the way that he used to live it. Will's mission: show Lou that every moment of life needs to be lived. It needs to be experienced because you never know when your life might be changed in the most important ways. I believe it would be pretty much impossible to spend as much time with someone as Lou and Will do without developing some kind of bond. These two open up to each other and an unlikely relationship begins to develop.

There are so many questions that Me Before You causes the reader to ask. Will Lou be able to change Will's mind about his new life? Will these two find some way that they can be together? How would you feel if you were Will? Would you be able to stand by a loved one if they made a choice that you couldn't understand or that broke your heart? Does support mean agreement? Will you choose to live your life in the moment or will you take what you have and the time you have for granted?

The first section of the book I remember thinking that the movie pretty much matched up event for event pretty spot on. But by the time you get to the chapter narrated by Camilla things start to change a little. For the most part, the movie was right along with the book. Obviously there are some changes. The biggest ones I noted were familial. Will doesn't have a sister in the movie--probably because they didn't want to pay another actress. They solved this by merging a bit of the sister's traits in with Camilla. They also made Camilla and Steven closer in the movie than they were in the book. Lou's family was a bit different too. I felt like even though they joked on Lou in the movie, they were a bit more critical of her in the book. Also, Lou's relationship with Treena was definitely more strained in the book whereas the movie makes them seem like besties. I also liked the slight change in the movie of the necklace that Patrick gives Lou for her birthday. That made me laugh out loud.

Both the movie and the book made me tear up, but they didn't actually fall. I'm not an easy one to make cry--especially since I'm not pregnant anymore. But both were definitely emotional. I think you pretty much expect them to be sad though.

Me Before You gets 4.5 Stars. I think had I read the book before watching the movie then I might have given it 5 Stars, but since I knew how it all ended that kept me from enjoying the book as much as I would have had I been blind to the story. But had I read the book before, I likely would have been more critical of the movie. Either way, Me Before You is extremely well written and will make you ask all kinds of questions and feel all kinds of emotions. I highly recommend it. Have you read Me Before You? Let me know!

Faking Normal - Review

Faking Normal

By: Courtney C Stevens

Published: February 25th 2014 by HarperTeen

336 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Abuse, Realistic Fiction

Source: Personal Kindle Library

( 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--An edgy, realistic, and utterly captivating novel from an exciting new voice in teen fiction.

Alexi Littrell hasn't told anyone what happened to her over the summer. Ashamed and embarrassed, she hides in her closet and compulsively scratches the back of her neck, trying to make the outside hurt more than the inside does.

When Bodee Lennox, the quiet and awkward boy next door, comes to live with the Littrells, Alexi discovers an unlikely friend in "the Kool-Aid Kid," who has secrets of his own. As they lean on each other for support, Alexi gives him the strength to deal with his past, and Bodee helps her find the courage to finally face the truth.

A searing, poignant book, Faking Normal is the extraordinary debut novel from an exciting new author-Courtney C. Stevens.

I read The Lies About Truth a while back for review, and I enjoyed it much more than I expected to. It wasn't a perfect book, but when I got to the end of my review copy and found the first chapter to Faking Normal I was hooked already. The description above is kind of weird to me. It seems very backwards. Within the first chapter and really the majority of the book, Bodee's story is much more transparent than Alexi's is. Bodee's story is really revealed within that first chapter and Alexi's story is dragged out throughout the majority of the book. The description hints at it and the book drops some pretty big clues but what I can say without feeling like I'm giving too much away is that Alexi was sexually assaulted over the summer and has been holding that inside of her.

Alexi was a character that I connected with very quickly. Her experience has changed her. And one of the ways she demonstrates that is by reaching out to the kid that no one is friends with. When Bodee finds himself in an extremely painful situation, Alexi can't just do nothing. Granted she doesn't really say or do much of anything, but that one small act creates a bond between these two. They begin speaking in the hallways at school. And even though Bodee doesn't have a clue what happened to Alexi over the summer, he's able to see that she's in pain very similar to pain he's witnessed himself.

Bodee was great. I loved him so much. Despite being a loner, Bodee sees beyond himself. He's perceptive and deep even though he's quiet and sullen. Bodee's ability to help Alexi even when his own life and experiences have been so difficult is admiring. He could easily see himself as a victim and think only of himself during this time, but he's so much more than that. Alexi stands up for and helps Bodee, but he does just as much and more for her as well. Their friendship was so slow building and realistic. I loved it. While the two did seem to have an instant connection and an ability to be utterly honest with each other when they both lie so well to everyone else, I never really felt like they rushed into anything.

Courtney C Steven's writing was even better in Faking Normal than I remember it being in The Truth About Lies. I highlighted a ton, and so here are my favorite quotes:

-I'm more like Heather than she knows. Scared ... and hoping a boy will love me someday even though I'm a mess.

-"It happens in my sleep," I say. "Mine too," he says. "I wake up and it's a different color."

-Sometimes the lies I tell Heather aren't little and white. They're a dab of honey-beige foundation applied to the blemishes of my life.

-We're already more than the sum of my lies. So I just breathe and look away, trying not to lie with my face, but to stand in the presence of the truth. It hurts.

-Faking normal is a skill I learned seventy-seven days ago, but tonight it's going to require everything I have.

-The power of Bodee is in the way he reads me, see through me, and then understands the truth behind the facade. He's the guy who can walk straight through the House of Mirrors on the first try.

-"A man is partially made up of his words."

-It's funny how the things you don't like are the things you miss when they're gone.

-"He matters more than you planned?" "No." I swipe the tears away. "It just sucks not to matter more than that."

-I've lived all but two weeks of my life without Bodee. But now, sitting with him in my fort, I know these two weeks have been God walking right into my life like he has flesh and Kool-Aid colored hair.

-Evidently, the gestation period for a bad idea is about ten seconds.

Faking Normal will easily fit into my top ten favorite books I've read this year (2015 when I wrote this post). It was so much more than I expected. This is a deep book full of painful events and the light that finding a friend within the darkness can bring to someone's life. I highly recommend this book. Heavy topics, little language, but deeply emotional. Faking Normal gets 5 Stars from me. Have you read Faking Normal? What did you think? Let me know!

The Lies About Truth - Review

The Lies About Truth

By: Courtney C Stevens

Published: November 3rd 2015 by HarperTeen

336 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--Sadie Kingston, is a girl living in the aftermath. A year after surviving a car accident that killed her friend Trent and left her body and face scarred, she can’t move forward. The only person who seems to understand her is Trent’s brother, Max.

As Sadie begins to fall for Max, she's unsure if she is truly healed enough to be with him — even if Max is able to look at her scars and not shy away. But when the truth about the accident and subsequent events comes to light, Sadie has to decide if she can embrace the future or if she'll always be trapped in the past.

Sadie grew up with a pretty tight-knit group of friends. She, Trent, Max, Gray, and Gina. Trent and Max were the brothers that lived next door. Gray was her boyfriend for like six years. And Gina was her best friend. But a car accident that involves the entire group rips through them all leaving them scarred (literally in Sadie’s case) and incomplete (missing Trent who died in the accident). Each person handles grief differently. Max and his family move to El Salvador within a month of the accident. Sadie’s injuries and scars along with her grief cause her to shut down and withdraw. (She and Trent were particularly close friends.) And Gray and Gina are in some ways forced to seek comfort from each other since Sadie won’t open up to either of them. There are a lot of dynamics at play here. Trent and Gina broke up the day of the accident. And it seems like everyone’s carrying some burden of secret on top of the guilt and grief they all feel.

The anniversary of the accident is coming up soon and things are about to change. Sadie’s parents are forcing her back into public school in the fall. She’s pretty much been voluntarily house bound since the accident. Sadie isn’t comfortable with herself anymore or her new scars. Gray and Gina hurt her in a deep way that she still feels pretty angry about. But things can’t stay the same forever. Max, who Sadie’s been emailing with since the accident and his move to El Salvador, is coming home. She doesn’t know if their new relationship is solid and will survive being together in person or if it’s just easier to talk to someone who isn’t there. Added to that someone has been putting messages in Sadie’s mailbox that are snippets of things she’s written (not really in a journal, but for the sake of easy explanations they were written in a journal like fashion) which means that someone’s gone through her personal things. She needs to figure out who. And the list of possibilities are limited to Max, Gina, and Gray.

There’s much I want to say and discuss, but I’m really trying to keep this review spoiler free. Ultimately this book is about healing, moving forward, closure with the past, and making steps toward a new future. Sadie does a great job of recognizing that she isn’t the same person she was before the accident. And even though she knows it intellectually, her friends aren’t either. Yet even as she resents her friends for wanting her to be the old version of herself, she wants the same from them. Courtney C Stevens did a really good job managing all of the emotions that come with surviving a tragedy like this and trying to move forward. Every step was well thought out.

I will say that when it came to the secrets that each person was keeping I found myself rolling my eyes. The biggest secret was something I’d read in a previous book almost exactly and in other books to different degrees so I couldn’t help feeling like it was a big cliché. Plus you don’t have to be a reader of my blog for long to tell that I usually find myself rolling my eyes when this subject comes up, especially in the last two years since it’s such a repetitive theme in YA literature these days. When this big secret was revealed I actually debated on just not reviewing this book at all because I’m so tired of discussing it. I knew that I wanted to finish reading the book so I decided to wait on making that decision until I finished it. Obviously, I have decided to review the book and that’s because the rest of the story’s dynamics hooked me and had me so completely invested. Despite my annoyances with this piece of the puzzle, I thought The Lies About Truth was actually very well written and I found myself highlighting a good bit.

My favorite quotes:

-“I like the way you think, Kingston.” “I like the way you understand, McCall.”

-Truth gets tucked into the strangest places.

-Jealousy was fast on the take.

-“You want change, make some.”

-“Sadie, forgiveness isn’t always returning to the old thing. Sometimes forgiveness is making an entirely new thing.”

-Sometimes a small thing was bigger than a big thing.

-Choosing forgiveness takes more courage (and far less energy) than sustaining anger.

-Sometimes the journey to let someone love you is the journey to loving yourself.

The Lies About the Truth ended up being a deeper, more complex, and more enjoyable story than I imagined. Having not read anything by Courtney C Stevens prior to The Lies About the Truth, I had no idea what to expect from this book or this author. I will say that I was pleasantly surprised, and the snippet for Faking Normal that was included in the back of my ARC version has me adding it to my TBR list immediately. I didn’t like the revelation of the biggest secret (or lie) as I’m so tired of this being used as a plot device in YA literature. I almost feel like it’s an easy out. But the rest of the book was strong enough to pull me through and still be willing to give The Lies About the Truth 4 Stars. Have you read The Lies About Truth? What did you think? Let me know!

Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between - Review

Hello, Goodbye, & Everything in Between

By: Jennifer E Smith

Expected Publication: September 1st 2015 by Poppy

256 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction

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Goodreads description--On the night before they leave for college, Clare and Aidan only have one thing left to do: figure out whether they should stay together or break up. Over the course of twelve hours, they'll retrace the steps of their relationship, trying to find something in their past that might help them decide what their future should be. The night will lead them to friends and family, familiar landmarks and unexpected places, hard truths and surprising revelations. But as the clock winds down and morning approaches, so does their inevitable goodbye. The question is, will it be goodbye for now or goodbye forever?

This new must-read novel from Jennifer E. Smith, author of The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, explores the difficult choices that must be made when life and love lead in different directions.

I’ve had Jennifer E Smith on my TBR list for years. I’ve always intended to read something by her, but nothing has stumbled into my lap. Considering the hype around some of her other books, I was excited about the opportunity to read and review her newest release Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between. Yet I was a little concerned about this book based off the description alone. While I’m not one of those readers that only wants to read books with a happily ever after and I can deal with the death of a beloved character, I also like to make sure that I don’t read books that don’t have a point. And that was my fear of Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between. Would I be okay with following these two characters around for an entire night of them reliving their relationship only to see it end in “goodbye?”

Let’s face it…TV, books, and various other forms of media has really pushed following your own path regardless of the relationships in your lives. Granted, making life long decisions based off your high school sweetheart isn’t always a sound decision. But I don’t like the idea that just because you found the one your heart loves in high school means that the relationship is doomed to failure. Plus what’s the point of achieving major career goals or traveling on really cool adventures if you have no one to share it with? What’s the point of surface level relationships when you could have something deeper and more meaningful? I realize that every person isn’t looking for the same thing out of life as everyone else. But these are the questions that I struggled with and the way I thought. In my life, I wanted love and companionship more than I wanted to go to an Ivy league school or climb the corporate ladder. And the best part…personally I feel like I have it all. So…my point being, that I don’t always like to read books where the characters value college and career above relationships.

Personal baggage aside, I had a little trouble connecting to Clare. She’s the one trying to be “logical” about their relationship. They’re traveling to different colleges…she to Dartmouth on the east coast and Aidan to UCLA on the west coast. They chose their colleges based on following their own paths, but now they have to decide if they’re going to try to do a long distance relationship or just give up and call it quits now. Aidan, I connected to more. He is the more romantic of the two of them. And he wants to make things work. He wants to just see how things go. To try. It’s no joke that long distance relationships are extremely difficult. And all of the scenarios that Clare pictures are possible. Yet, I couldn’t help feeling like she was working herself up over something that hadn’t even happened yet. She was trying to prevent those things from happening, but who’s to say that any of those scenarios would have happened anyway? Nothing is set in stone. I could understand her, but I didn’t quite agree with her.

Clare and Aidan both had histories that were pretty well flushed out. Flashbacks in a myriad of settings made me feel like I’d been a part of their personal relationship history as well as their separate family histories as well. The side characters obviously didn’t have as much time, but it didn’t take long at all for me to feel connected and even invested in their own side pieces, especially Stella and Scotty.

I will say that I found the narrative a bit distracting at times. It had an "all knowing eye in the sky" type of feel…where the narrator knows what all the characters are thinking and feeling and any particular character’s thoughts or feelings might be thrown into the mix at any given time. This sometimes pulls me out of the story because I’m so used to (and prefer) reading books that follow one main character’s thoughts and feelings even if it is a third person past tense voice. Or if the book follows multiple characters then they’re usually split into chapters or sections that follow each character individually.

My final rating of Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between is 4 stars. I got misty eyed a few times. Even though I didn’t connect to Clare as much, I did connect to their dilemma and their relationship as a whole. The side characters and experiences of the night really did bring everything to life. Have you read Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between? What did you think? Let me know!

My Life Next Door - Review

My Life Next Door (My Life Next Door, # 1)

By: Huntley Fitzpatrick

Published: June 14th 2012 by Dial Books For Young Readers

394 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction

Source: Borrowed from the library

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Goodreads description--"One thing my mother never knew, and would disapprove of most of all, was that I watched the Garretts. All the time."

The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, messy, affectionate. And every day from her rooftop perch, Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them . . . until one summer evening, Jase Garrett climbs up next to her and changes everything.

As the two fall fiercely for each other, stumbling through the awkwardness and awesomeness of first love, Jase's family embraces Samantha - even as she keeps him a secret from her own. Then something unthinkable happens, and the bottom drops out of Samantha's world. She's suddenly faced with an impossible decision. Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself?

A transporting debut about family, friendship, first romance, and how to be true to one person you love without betraying another.

My Life Next Door wasn’t what I thought it would be. But that’s not a bad thing. Sam’s father left her mother when she was pregnant with Sam and Sam’s sister, Tracy, was 1 year old. Sam’s father came from a big family. When the Garretts move next door Sam’s mom, Grace, assumes the worst about them. They’ll be loud and messy. And she’s all about what she can control—neat and pristine and quiet. Grace was a pretty good mom for the most part, but she’s gotten distant lately due to running for political office. Grace has her shortcomings, that’s for sure. One of them is the prejudice she shows toward her next door neighbors. Because they don’t have the kind of life that she has (or wants) she looks down upon them.

But Sam is fascinated by the Garretts. Not only has her mom been distant but her older sister has as well. She’s either wrapped up in her boyfriend, off doing her own thing, or preparing for college. She’s basically just not there for Sam. Plus Grace has recently started dating a guy from her campaign. And this guy gives Sam the creeps in a way that she just can’t quite put her finger on. Regardless, the house that’s full of life has become an extreme fascination for Sam. Until one day, Jase Garrett climbs her trellis and opens her life to a whole new world—the world next door.

Jase is the third child out of eight. He loves his big family and resents those who remark on how bothersome a large family is. I loved the entire Garrett family. Joel, Duff and Harry we didn’t get as much from as Alice, Jase, Andy, George, and Patsy. But each and every one of the members has a great personality attributed to them. Alice is rough around the edges, but she has a soft spot deep down. She’s going to nursing school. Jase is great. He’s everything you hope for in a first love. He’s great at fixing things, and he dreams of going to college. It’s not so much that football is his dream as football is his means of getting a scholarship and thus going to college. Andy is fourteen and hitting her dramatic and boy crazy stage. George seems to be afraid of everything potentially harmful and boy does he have a vast knowledge of what all is harmful. But he’s still a very open kid. Just loveable. And poor Patsy just wants to be fed--breastfed.

A family of 10 has its financial burdens for sure. It doesn’t help that the hardware store Mr. Garrett owns isn’t doing so well either. Yet Sam has it made. Her mother’s family apparently had money and had a trust fund set up for her. Plus with her mother’s work in politics, Samantha has never really wanted for anything. But she doesn’t take that for granted either. Samantha works two jobs during the summer to make her own money and to stay busy.

The nature of the big conflict was not something I predicted in the least based off the description and the start of the book. Of course, some potential conflicts were obvious, but that big one kind of surprised me. How Samantha handled things right at the 80% mark was annoying to me as I felt like it was a bit of a cop out. But big things are at stake and real life would make the right thing to do very difficult. I loved how Jase responds when he learns the truth of what’s going on, and that almost redeems Sam’s stupidity.

Now that I’m typing my review for My Life Next Door I’m really seeing how many dynamics were going on with this book. Aside from the Garretts being great characters, Tim and Nan were great additions too. Nan truly annoyed the mess out of me. Utterly spoiled and self-centered. Tim, on the other hand, really worked hard to overcome who he used to be and change. It took him a while to get to that place though. Having just read My Life Next Door, I can’t say that I would be dying to read from Tim’s POV, but that’s what we’re getting with The Boy Most Likely To. And if that book is even remotely as layered as this one, I’m sure I’ll enjoy it. Tim, however, did contribute a large amount of f-bombs to My Life Next Door which I could have done without.

Favorite quotes:

-Our house contains all that’s high-end and high-tech and shiny clean. And three people who would rather be somewhere else.

-It’s so weird sitting there in the kitchen with this woman I’ve seen from a distance for ten years. Like finding yourself in an elevator with a celebrity. I repress the urge to say “I’m a huge fan.”

-“…This is not the time for your adolescent drama.” I cannot help but wonder if any parents ever actually schedule in adolescent drama on their day planners. Looks like a slow week, Sarah. I guess I can pencil in your eating disorder.

-“…, my Sam.”

I’d seen plenty of people say that they loved My Life Next Door, but it truly was better and deeper than I expected. The layers and the depth of each character was really well planned out and executed. And I truly can’t wait to read more from Huntley Fitzpatrick. My Life Next Door gets 4 Stars from me. Have you read My Life Next Door? 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!!)

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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!

Waiting on Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Hello, Goodbye, & Everything in Between

By: Jennifer E Smith

Expected Publication: September 1st 2015 by Poppy

256 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction

( 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--On the night before they leave for college, Clare and Aidan only have one thing left to do: figure out whether they should stay together or break up. Over the course of twelve hours, they'll retrace the steps of their relationship, trying to find something in their past that might help them decide what their future should be. The night will lead them to friends and family, familiar landmarks and unexpected places, hard truths and surprising revelations. But as the clock winds down and morning approaches, so does their inevitable goodbye. The question is, will it be goodbye for now or goodbye forever?

This new must-read novel from Jennifer E. Smith, author of The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, explores the difficult choices that must be made when life and love lead in different directions.

I've yet to read a Jennifer E Smith book. I've wanted to. They're all on my TBR list. But I just haven't had a chance. I've got to change that. What are you waiting on this week? Let me know!

Upon Further Review: Carter Finally Gets It

Upon Further Review is an original feature here at Somewhere Only We Know. I have always loved re-reading my favorite books, and I wanted a way to incorporate re-reading into my blog. Thus From the Ashes and Upon Further Review were born. From the Ashes is where I re-read a book that I have never reviewed before and finally review it. Upon Further Review is where I re-read a book that I've already reviewed and see if my original rating stands or not. This is also the time for me to discuss any new revelations that my latest re-read has brought to my attention.

Carter Finally Gets It (Carter Finally Gets It, # 1)

By: Brent Crawford

Published: April 2009 by Disney-Hyperion

300 pages

Genre: YA, Realistic Fiction, Comedy

Source: Free Audio Download from Sync Audiobooks

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Goodreads description--Meet Will Carter, but feel free to call him Carter. (Yes, he knows it's a lazy nickname, but he didn't have much say in the matter.)

Here are five things you should know about him:

1. He has a stuttering problem, particularly around boobs and belly buttons.

2. He battles Attention Deficit Disorder every minute of every day unless he gets distracted.

3. He's a virgin, mostly because he's no good at talking to girls (see number 1).

4. He's about to start high school.

5. He's totally not ready.

Join Carter for his freshman year, where he'll search for sex, love, and acceptance anywhere he can find it. In the process, he'll almost kill a trombone player, face off with his greatest nemesis, suffer a lot of blood loss, narrowly escape death, run from the cops (not once, but twice), get caught up in a messy love triangle, meet his match in the form of a curvy drill teamer, and surprise the hell out of everyone, including himself.

HERE’s my original review of Carter Finally Gets It. Periodically, I just get in a mood where I want to read (or listen) to a book that I know what to expect from. When Top Secret Twenty-One (Stephanie Plum, # 21) by Janet Evanovich didn’t have me rolling on the floor or laughing out loud, I decided that I need something that was going to make me laugh and something that I knew what to expect and therefore, if I spaced out for a bit because of work then I wouldn’t miss anything too much. And so Carter Finally Gets It fit that bill. I remembered this book having me literally belly laughing when I first listened to it, and so I wanted that again.

Obviously, I knew where all of the funny parts where listening to this audiobook a second time, but man that did not hinder this book’s ability to have me rolling. I was trying so hard to hold my laughter in since I was listening at work, but it just wasn’t possible. One time a coworker came to my desk to discuss a work project, and I just had to sit there for like 5 minutes or so trying to get myself together. It was embarrassing. But oh so funny. Upon my second listen, I can see where this book might not be everyone’s cup of tea. Carter Finally Gets It appeals to a specific type of humor, but it just happens to fit mine perfectly.

Carter Finally Gets It has more of a story than I ever expected. It was hilarious to see how clueless Carter was in general but especially when trying to deal with the opposite sex. He has no clue and his hormones get him into more than one mess. As a female, I couldn’t help thinking “Is this how it really is for guys?” I want my husband to listen to this book, but he’s not been in the audiobook kind of mood lately—and if he finds that mood then we have to finish listening to Harry Potter first. But in an industry that is mostly dominated by female narrators—or at least dual narratives—this is probably my favorite young adult book solely narrated by a male character. The language was more noticeable to me this time. Even though Carter doesn’t drop any f-bombs, other language is used pretty frequently.

I sang and sang the praises of Nick Podehl in my original review of Carter Finally Gets It, but I just have to sing them again. This book would have still been funny without him, but it would not have been AS funny without him. I said it before, but I’ve never found a narrator that commits to a part or a book as Nick Podehl committed to Carter in this book. It was awesome. And I’m tempted to go hunt down other audiobooks that he’s narrated, even if the book itself wasn’t originally on my TBR list.

I originally gave Carter Finally Gets It 4 stars. I gave it a 5 for the narration and a 3.5 for the story. I don’t know guys, I’ve yet to overturn an original rating, but I think the storyline for Carter Finally Gets It might be better than I originally thought. Since this was my second time through this book, I picked up on a lot of the little details that escaped me last time. I feel good about bumping the storyline up to 4 Stars, which would give my overall rating of Carter Finally Gets It 4.5 Stars. Have you read (or listened) Carter Finally Gets It? What did you think? Let me know!

I also forced this audiobook on a friend who was in a major need of a laugh about the same time that I listened to it, and she loved it too. I always worry that I’ve built it up too much, but that’s just another validation for me that this book is as good as I originally thought—and shoot…better.

Driftwood Tides - Review

Driftwood Tides

By: Gina Holmes

Published: September 1st 2014 by Tyndale House Publishers

Genre: Adult, Realistic Fiction, Contemporary

Source: Publisher via Edelweiss (Thank you!!)

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

Goodreads description--He made himself an island until something unexpected washed ashore.When Holton lost his wife, Adele, in a freak accident, he shut himself off from the world, living a life of seclusion, making drifwood sculptures and drowning his pain in gin. Until twenty-three-year-old Libby knocks on his door, asking for a job and claiming to be a friend of his late wife. When he discovers Libby is actually his late wife's illegitimate daughter, given up for adoption without his knowledge, his life is turned upside down as he struggles to accept that the wife he'd given saint status to was not the woman he thought he knew.Together Holton and Libby form an unlikely bond as the two struggle to learn the identity of Libby's father and the truth about Adele, themselves, and each other.

I read Crossing Oceans by Gina Holmes back in 2012 and LOVED it. I don’t often cry when reading, so if there’s a book that even gets me close then I consider that a good book. And Crossing Oceans did. Crossing Oceans was my first experience reading anything by Gina Holmes, and since I was so impressed I knew when I came across Driftwood Tides on Edelweiss that I would need to check it out. I’m glad that I did, but yet Driftwood Tides did not live up to the expectations I had of it either.

I enjoyed reading Driftwood Tides because it was a nice change of pace from what I normally read. Instead of being about young adults dealing with teenage and college problems, this book was about adult problems. Yet, I didn’t feel like this book was very original either. It felt predictable on every level to me, which is always a disappointment. Even though this is an adult book, the problems weren’t that much different. Guilt. Shame. Alcohol abuse. Rejection. Fear. Who am I? Where did I come from? Can I move on? All of those things were touched on in this book. Also different from what I normally read is the fact that this was definitely a Christian book.

I like reading Christian fiction, but honestly, I don’t read more Christian fiction because some of it can be a bit cheesy. Yes, that’s right. I said it. Even being a Christian myself, I can struggle with this in Christian fiction. A lot of times it feels like the authors are trying to teach the reader a lesson versus the character learning a lesson. And often the seemingly miraculous situations that occur feel unrealistic and far-fetched. On top of all that, if a “regular” fiction book can struggle with everything being tied up too nicely in the end, then Christian books even more frequently suffer from this. And so that’s one of the reasons why I don’t read more Christian fiction—the stories don’t always feel real. And unfortunately Driftwood Tides fell into this pattern for me. It wasn’t overly, beat-you-over-the-head with the lesson Gina Holmes was trying to get across, and it wasn’t completely cheesy. But there were aspects of both.

Holton was a character that I struggled with because his first reaction to losing his wife was to turn to alcohol. It happens so frequently in the world, but it just felt so cliché. And I thought this as a conflict was too easy. He’s sober more than I expected throughout the book, but I really thought based off the description that the majority of the book would be about him trying to bond with Libby. Yet that wasn’t exactly the case. Libby was fairly likeable. I enjoyed her being able to see through her fiance’s emotional struggles, but she went through this phase of self-sabotage that annoyed me. Speaking of Libby’s finace, Rob was very familiar to me. I know a few Robs out there, but Rob learned his lessons easier than the “Robs” I know IRL. Tess was probably the most likeable character, but even then it was a bit hard to understand how she had fallen in love with drunk Holton.

Favorite quotes:

-“It’s not fair getting mad at you for being the person I fell in love with.”

-“You’ll like him a lot more if you listen more to his actions than to his words.”

-There were a million things she wished he was mature enough to hear at that moment—that his behavior was threatening to cause what he feared most. She loved him and only him, but she was so afraid that she was going to have spend the rest of her life trying to convince him of something he would never believe…or that his never ending well of neediness would never be filled no matter how many compliments and reassurances she poured into it. One day that neediness might even suck the life out of their marriage, but it didn’t have to be that way. If he could just learn to trust in her, trust in himself and his own lovability, they’d be okay. But those were all things she had already said a million times, in a million different ways, and it always ended with him apologizing, but not really getting it. … She just couldn’t bring herself to repeat it one more time.

”When I love someone God just takes them away.” “I know how that feels. But maybe—I don’t know—maybe it’s not God.”

Driftwood Tides was a fairly enjoyable read. It was a nice change from what I normal read. But I found Driftwood Tides a little on the cheesy and “pretty” side. Driftwood Tides gets 3.5 Stars from me. Have you read Driftwood Tides? What did you think? Let me know!

One Plus One - Review

One Plus One

By: Jojo Moyes

Published: July 1st 2014 by Pamela Dorman Books

384 pages

Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Chick Lit, Realistic Fiction

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (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--One single mom. One chaotic family. One quirky stranger. One irresistible love story from the New York Times bestselling author of Me Before You

American audiences have fallen in love with Jojo Moyes. Ever since she debuted stateside, she has captivated readers and reviewers alike, and hit the New York Times bestseller list with the word-of-mouth sensation, Me Before You. Now, with One Plus One, she’s written another contemporary opposites-attract love story that reads like a modern-day Two for the Road.

Suppose your life sucks. A lot. Your husband has done a vanishing act, your teenage stepson is being bullied and your math whiz daughter has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you can’t afford to pay for. That’s Jess’s life in a nutshell—until an unexpected knight-in-shining-armor offers to rescue them. Only Jess’s knight turns out to be Geeky Ed, the obnoxious tech millionaire whose vacation home she happens to clean. But Ed has big problems of his own, and driving the dysfunctional family to the Math Olympiad feels like his first unselfish act in ages . . . maybe ever.

One Plus One is Jojo Moyes at her astounding best. You’ll laugh, you’ll weep, and when you flip the last page, you’ll want to start all over again.

I’ve seen Jojo Moyes all over the place. From the very first review I saw from Aussie Zombie of Me Before You, I knew that I would need to read her work at some point. And when the opportunity came up to read and review One Plus One I knew I had to jump on it.

Initially I felt like Jojo Moyes might have been writing from too many POVs. At the very beginning I was getting people confused and wasn’t sure how each POV would draw the story into an overall, cohesive book. It didn’t take too terribly long to know each character, keep them straight, and to begin to see the connections between all of the POVs. The narrators are Jess, Ed, Tanzie, and Nicky.

Jess is a single mom. Her husband, Marty, left around two years ago to move in with his mother and get out of a depression/funk. He hasn’t had anything to do with the kids since he left minus periodic Skype calls. Jess is struggling to make ends meet. She works at least two jobs—as a maid/cleaner and a bartender. She’s working her fingers to the bone trying to take care of her kids—Nicky and Tanzie.

Nicky isn’t even Jess’s biological child. Marty—Jess’s husband—is Nicky’s father. His mother is a drug addict that is mentioned, but we never meet her. He’s been living with Jess since he was eight and she views him as just as much her child as Tanzie. I loved how Nicky looks out for Tanzie. Despite getting bullied and beat up for being a bit different from the other kids at his school, Nicky is going to do whatever it takes to see Tanzie happy. He helps Jess take care of her as much as he can, but he very much needs Jess. He needs a mom, and he needs a dad.

Tanize was a sweetheart. If Nicky’s different from the kids at school, Tanzie is a world apart. She loves math—like advanced level math. She loves sequins and anything homemade by Jess. She was such an adorable kid. Her love of math is actually where the book’s title comes from, and I appreciated the math theories being interwoven into the overall story in a way that made so much sense but without needing to understand advanced level math to understand. I also loved the relationship that Tanzie had with the family dog Norman who was just as much a main character as any of the others. Norman is huge (though I’m not sure exactly what breed). His body produces toxic smells. He can be hard headed and determined. And I fell in love with Norman just as much as the other characters.

And then there’s Ed. He doesn’t seem to fit at all into this equation. He’s the part owner of a software company and is being investigated for insider-trading, of which he’s actually guilty. Ed just wanted to find an easy, quick way to get out of a relationship with a girl that had become entirely too clingy. He was an idiot. And now he’s paying the price. Exiled from his regular home and his office, he spends some time at his beachfront condo where Jess happens to be the cleaning lady. He and Jess end up making a deal where Ed agrees to drive her family to Scotland for Tanzie’s math Olympiad in hopes that Tanzie will win the completion (and the prize money) and be able to go to prestigious private school that Jess can’t afford.

I completely fell in love with these characters. I wanted them all to succeed and find happiness. And I loved the slow development and changes that took place over the course of this crazy, wild, spontaneous adventure they all went on together. The layers upon layers of this story add to such a genuine feel. This is exactly what hooked me. Each character was multifaceted and had their own set of struggles. Each character had separate yet intertwined buildup, conflict, and resolution. While I was enjoying this book, I wasn’t completely hooked early on. I mean I was enjoying myself, but I didn’t find that pressing need to keep reading until after the 50% mark probably. I don’t think that affected my overall opinion of this book, but I did want to note that if you’re having trouble connecting, just keep pushing through. I feel certain you’ll be thankful that you did.

One Plus One actually succeeded where many other books have not. I actually cried. Like tears rolling down the cheeks at this one part. It was so raw and open and heartbreaking in that moment. I’m not the easiest person to make cry so this is often a feat when it comes to books, TV shows, and movies. I’m not sure if the setting being in England has anything to do with the number of f-bombs, but you might also want to be aware of this going into the book.

Favorite quotes:

-…being a parent on your own when you were totally out of your depth was actually the loneliest place on earth.

-She cleaned because if she didn’t she would stand in her overgrown little back garden, lift her face to the sky and scream and scream and scream, and she wasn’t sure she’d be able to stop.

-Who was it who had said you were only as happy as your unhappiest child?

- “Rich is paying every single bill on time without thinking about it.”

-It wasn’t that Ed would make it okay—he had his own problems to deal with—but somehow the sum of them added up to something better.

-It’s weird how you can miss something you only ever complained about.

-The Law of probability combined with the law of large numbers states that to beat the odds, sometimes you have to repeat an event an increasing number of times in order to get you to the outcome you desire. The more you do, the closer you get. Or, as I explained it to Mum, basically, sometimes you just have to keep going.

One Plus One gets 4 stars from me. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. I loved all the layering of the characters and the stories. And I loved how everything fit together. The whole of One Plus One is definitely greater than the sum of its parts. Have you read One Plus One? What did you think? Let me know!