These Things I've Done - Review

These Things I've Done

By: Rebecca Phillips

Published: August 1st 2017 by HarperTeen

272 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

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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--A contemporary YA perfect for fans of Courtney Summers and Jessi Kirby, THESE THINGS I’VE DONE is the story of a seventeen-year-old girl who accidentally caused her best friend’s death and, a year later, is still grappling with the consequences.

Before:
Dara and Aubrey have been inseparable since they became best friends in sixth grade. However, as they begin their sophomore year of high school, cracks in their friendship begin to form, testing the bond they always thought was unbreakable.

After:
It's been fifteen months since the accident that killed Aubrey, and not a day goes by that Dara isn't racked with guilt over her role in her best friend's death. Dara thought nothing could be worse than confronting the memories of Aubrey that relentlessly haunt her, but she soon realizes it isn't half as difficult as seeing Ethan, Aubrey's brother, every day. Not just because he's a walking reminder of what she did, but because the more her feelings for him change, the more she knows she's betraying her best friend one final time.

So perhaps the "Before" and "After" section of the description should have been a warning to me that this book jumps back and forth chronologically, but I didn't pick up on that. And unfortunately, I struggle with books that jump around like this. I think that's because inevitably one storyline appeals to me more than the other which means whenever it is time to switch back to the other I'm disappointed and frustrated. And that was the case with These Things I've Done as well. In situations like this, the before is obviously leading up to the after and sometimes it isn't necessary to see the details of the before to figure out how we got to the after. But one positive side to this back and forth was the build up in finding out exactly how Aubrey was killed and what Dara's role was that would cause so much guilt.

Dara leaves town to go live with her aunt and uncle shortly after Aubrey's death and she spend her junior year there, but ultimately she decides that she needs to come back home for senior year to face what she's done. She's not exactly looking forward to it, but it needs to be done. Obviously, the kids at school aren't particularly welcoming to the girl who killed her best friend. But it goes beyond that. Aubrey's younger brother. Dara's own family. All of these relationships have changed and have struggled as a result of this tragedy.

I didn't dislike Dara at all. She's been through a terrible, life-changing event. And truth be told, anyone could have been in her shoes. Plus, I feel like anyone would feel all the things that Dara feels. I appreciated that she didn't fight therapy like we've seen characters do in the past. It was just part of her journey. Although, I kind of wish we'd been exposed to more of her counselling. Yet even though her guilt was understandable, it wasn't always easy or fun to read about.

Ethan, on the other hand, was beyond likeable and easy to read about. I enjoyed him in the before and in the after. It wasn't that he didn't struggle with his sister's death or find himself angry. It was kind of the opposite. The best thing about his character was how he chose to respond to his feelings.

I think I would have enjoyed These Things I've Done more if I hadn't read such other great books recently. That being said, I still really enjoyed These Things I've Done. It had a few flaws, but I wanted to keep reading for the most part. These Things I've Done gets 3.5 Stars. Have you read These Things I've Done? What did you think? Let me know!

Waiting on These Things I've Done

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

These Things I've Done

By: Rebecca Phillips

Expected Publication: August 1st 2017 by HarperTeen

272 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--A contemporary YA perfect for fans of Courtney Summers and Jessi Kirby, THESE THINGS I’VE DONE is the story of a seventeen-year-old girl who accidentally caused her best friend’s death and, a year later, is still grappling with the consequences.

Before:
Dara and Aubrey have been inseparable since they became best friends in sixth grade. However, as they begin their sophomore year of high school, cracks in their friendship begin to form, testing the bond they always thought was unbreakable.

After:
It's been fifteen months since the accident that killed Aubrey, and not a day goes by that Dara isn't racked with guilt over her role in her best friend's death. Dara thought nothing could be worse than confronting the memories of Aubrey that relentlessly haunt her, but she soon realizes it isn't half as difficult as seeing Ethan, Aubrey's brother, every day. Not just because he's a walking reminder of what she did, but because the more her feelings for him change, the more she knows she's betraying her best friend one final time.

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

Ten Underrated Books

Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is Top Ten Underrated Recent Gems.

You guys, most of the books I've over the last year have at least a 3.8 rating on Goodreads. I'd say that's pretty stinking good. I've read two review books that don't publish for a little bit that currently have low ratings. I'm not sure if that's because of the content or the publication date. I'll list one of those below, but mostly I want to focus on read books. So since the ones I've read within the last year have pretty good ratings, I'm just doing underrated books in general.

1. Finding Mr. Brightside by Jay Clark (Goodreads Rating: 3.52) My Rating: 4 Stars - I really have no idea why this one is rated so low.
2. Pull (Push, # 2) by Claire Wallis - (Goodreads Rating: 3.48) My Rating: 4 Stars - I get it. This doesn't have your typical happily-ever-after, but it's still a much better book than that Goodreads rating.
3. The Fall by Bethany Griffin - (Goodreads Rating: 3.41) My Rating: 4 Stars - I can kind of understand this one too. It's very "different", but I still enjoyed it.
4. V is for Virgin (V is for Virgin, # 1) by Kelly Oram - (Goodreads Rating: 3.79) My Rating: 4.5 Stars - The message behind this book was so good. And I loved the characters too. I definitely think it deserves a higher rating.
5. 100 Hours (100 Hours, # 1) by Rachel Vincent - Release Date: March 28, 2017 (Goodreads Rating: 3.11) Review Coming Soon - I mean I don't want to give away my rating right now, but 3.11 is ridiculously low for this book.
6. Twilight (Twilight, # 1) by Stephenie Meyer - (Goodreads Rating: 3.55) My Rating: 4 Stars - You guys, I realize that Twilight isn't without faults, but I feel like so many people enjoyed this one until it became so popular and then jumped ship. I also feel like some people were determined to dislike it just because it was popular. It's worth more than 3.5 Stars--at least it is to me.
7. New Moon (Twilight, # 2) by Stephenie Meyer - (Goodreads Rating: 3.52) My Rating: 4 Stars - New Moon rocked my soul the first time I read it. Again, not without issues, but this book had me all up in the feels.
8. On Becoming Babywise by Gary Ezzo & Robert Bucknam (Goodreads Rating: 3.56) My Rating: 4.5 Stars - Parenting is an extremely personal thing with many decisions that aren't right or wrong...just what works for you. Babywise has gotten a lot of flack, but overall the concepts really helped me and my baby get better sleep which is a win in my book.
9. A Thousand Nights by EK Johnston - (Goodreads Rating: 3.67) My Rating: 4 Stars - This is another one where the ending was a bit weird, but the writing was beautiful. I think it deserves better based on the writing only really.
10. Faking Perfect by Rebecca Phillips - (Goodreads Rating: 3.60) My Rating: 4 Stars - This is one of those books that kind of just hit me at the right time I think. I didn't enjoy it as much for the aspects that I was expecting to so much as the ones that took me by surprise.

Which books have you loved recently that you feel are underrated? Let me know!

Faking Perfect - Review

Faking Perfect

By: Rebecca Phillips

Expected Publication: June 30th 2015 by K-Teen

272 pages

Genre: Young Adult, 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--“Edgy and honest, Faking Perfect is the real thing.” –Huntley Fitzpatrick

When Lexi Shaw seduced Oakfield High's resident bad boy Tyler Flynn at the beginning of senior year, he seemed perfectly okay with her rules:

1. Avoid her at school.
2. Keep his mouth shut about what they do together.
3. Never tease her about her friend (and unrequited crush) Ben.

Because with his integrity and values and golden boy looks, Ben can never find out about what she’s been doing behind closed doors with Tyler. Or that her mom’s too busy drinking and chasing losers to pay the bills. Or that Lexi’s dad hasn’t been a part of her life for the last thirteen years. But with Tyler suddenly breaking the rules, Ben asking her out, and her dad back in the picture, how long will she be able to go on faking perfect?

Do you guys ever read a book description and think “this might be good, but it might not be so good”? That’s kind of how I felt when I requested Faking Perfect for review. However, somewhere along the way between the time I originally read the book description and the time I actually picked up Faking Perfect to read, I got some things mixed up in what I thought this book was supposed to be about. Whoops. But hey, it happens, right? With as many books as I read and even more book descriptions trying to determine which ones to add to the TBR pile and which ones to take a pass on, I’m bound to get a few mixed up here and there. All of that just means that Faking Perfect wasn’t quite what I expected it to be.

I’m torn on several aspects of Faking Perfect. This is one of those stories where what’s wrong and how it should be fixed is glaringly obvious. Let me start with some background. Lexi’s father, Eric, was heavily into drugs when she was young. Her mother grabbed Lexi and ran when things hit rock bottom for Eric. Her mother told Lexi growing up that her father was likely dead from a drug overdose. And so Lexi grows up knowing essentially nothing about her father. Her mother isn’t much of a mother. Despite running from Eric because of his addiction, Lexi’s mother turns to alcohol and men. Thankfully, Lexi’s mother’s high school best friend lives across the street from them and has been a strong motherly figure in Lexi’s life. So to say that Lexi has issues is a bit of an understatement. Lexi’s found herself a part of the popular clique, but she still feels like an outsider. Apparently the popular clique in her school has some really high standards academically, in appearance, and morally. And Lexi knows that if they knew her dirty secrets—her mother’s alcohol and revolving men, her father’s drug addiction, and her own personal addiction to bad boy Tyler—they would want nothing to do with her. And so…Lexi decides to put up a front around her “friends.” Add to that the fact that Lexi has a crush on the ringleader of the popular group, Ben, who happens to be the most judgmental of all. So…do the issues and fixes shout obvious to you from just this paragraph?

Obviously, faking who you are is not something that anyone can maintain forever. And why anyone would want to be friends with people who they know wouldn’t accept them for who they are and things that are beyond their control is beyond me. Much less have a desire to date someone under those circumstances. This was just beyond obvious. Lexi actually has one true friend that she can be herself in front of, but she even chooses to keep secrets from him as well. While this was a frustration, I honestly didn’t dwell on it because even the book description hinted about this. (*Side note: I’m so excited to read a boy/girl friendship with zero attraction to each other and neither character turning out to be gay.)

Another small frustration of mine was that Lexi didn’t seem to know or at least didn’t explain to the reader what about Ben she liked and crushed on for years. She did find a few things to comment on once the two got together. Although the reasons to dislike Ben were more than obvious. But the same goes for Tyler. Obviously, Lexi claims to have been drawn to the bad boy and there’s definitely this physical attraction that’s there and doesn’t have to be explained, but why Tyler began to develop feelings for Lexi…all of that wasn’t as obvious as I would have liked.

Truthfully, the part of the story that got to me the most was centered around Lexi’s relationship with her parents. I’m transitioning from always viewing the child’s perspective to also viewing the parent’s perspective as well. And well both sides were pretty emotional for me in Faking Perfect. I mean the conflict and even some of the “surprises” were again…obvious. But I really felt some true emotion. Granted, I’m more emotional these days…so it’s possible that I wouldn’t have reacted as strongly were I not pregnant while reading this book.

Favorite quotes:

-I wondered how it was possible that he could disgust me and turn me on, all at the same time.

-There were two sides to everything and everyone, and somewhere in the middle was the truth.

You can tell even from the description that Lexi and Tyler have a sexual relationship so that shouldn’t be a surprise. While that was prevalent throughout the story, the book wasn’t descriptive with any of those moments. And if I remember correctly, Faking Perfect did have cursing but not too terribly much of it.

In the end, Faking Perfect had some issues. Most of the issues were obvious even from the book description. While I noted them and had to discuss them here in my review, I didn’t really find myself too annoyed with the book because of them. Yet at the same time, I found myself getting teary-eyed as well. So Faking Perfect definitely made me feel something, which is pivotal for my reading experiences. Faking Perfect gets 4 Stars. Have you read Faking Perfect? What did you think? Let me know!