Tag: lauren myracle

Book Review: How to be Bad

Posted on by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews, Books to Borrow

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Synopsis from Amazon:

Jesse, Vicks, and Mel each has her own reason for wanting to get away from their nowheresville Florida town. Add in a hot (and harmless) hitchhiker, an impending hurricane, and a close encounter of the gator kind, and the result is one sizzling road trip where the journey is far more important than the destination.

*This book is part of my POPSUGAR 2016 Reading Challenge.*

Out of the three authors of this book I’ve read books by two of them (Sarah Mylnowski and Lauren Myracle). Based on that I figured I’d give this book a try. Unfortunately, I didn’t love it as much as I thought I would.

Told in alternating point of views, Jesse, Vicks, and Mel embark on a road trip to Miami under the guise of getting Vicks to see her boyfriend, Brady, who just started school at the University of Miami. Although truthfully Jesse and Mel have their own reasons for wanting to leave their small Florida town.

My main issue with this novel is that I didn’t like the characters. Jesse is a holier than thou Christian who attempts to push her beliefs on everyone and is very judgmental. As a Christian myself I couldn’t stand this type of character because that’s not how most Christians are, in my opinion. Of course, this is part of her issues that she needs to work through on this road trip but it was just painful reading the way she treated her mother and Vicks.

Although Vicks isn’t innocent. Her whole dilemma with her boyfriend Brady stems from Vicks not being honest about how she feels. Throughout most of the novel I wanted to slap her and tell her to get over herself and stop pretending to be such a “bada**”.

If I had to say who my favorite was out of the three I’d have to go with Mel. Even though she definitely had some insecurities I felt more sorry for her than annoyed by her. I cheered for her when she finally stepped out of her comfort zone and started speaking up for herself. I also really liked the character, Marco, who the girls meet on the road. He was cute, funny, and added some more adventure to the story.

Overall, I thought the girls got into some pretty funny situations and the plot was good but I can’t say I loved this novel. I probably won’t ever reread it so for me it’s just not worth the buy.

Borrow or Borrow: Borrow

Stars:

3 stars

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Book Review: Let It Snow

Posted on by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews, Books to Buy

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Synopsis from Amazon:

A Christmas Eve snowstorm transforms one small town into a romantic haven, the kind you see only in movies. Well, kinda. After all, a cold and wet hike from a stranded train through the middle of nowhere would not normally end with a delicious kiss from a charming stranger. And no one would think that a trip to the Waffle House through four feet of snow would lead to love with an old friend. Or that the way back to true love begins with a painfully early morning shift at Starbucks. Thanks to three of today’s bestselling teen authors—John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle—the magic of the holidays shines on these hilarious and charming interconnected tales of love, romance, and breathtaking kisses.

*This book is part of my POPSUGAR 2016 Reading Challenge.*

Although the holiday season is now over I couldn’t let that stop me from finally reading this book. Therefore, when I got the email from the library saying I got it I couldn’t wait to read it so I just did.

Although each short story is it’s own story they are all interconnected and take place in the town of Gracetown. Due to a massive snow storm Jubilee, the protagonist of the first story by Maureen Johnson, gets stuck in Gracetown, on her way to Florida to be with her grandparents since her parents are in jail. Yeah, it’s a long story.

Jubilee, who had big plans of spending Christmas with her always busy boyfriend, is devastated that she not only won’t be with her boyfriend but she won’t be with her family either. Thankfully, there’s a nice guy from Target with an overbearing mother there to help get her in the holiday spirit.

The next story is by John Green and although I loved each of these stories, I have to say Green wins it for me. This story follows Tobin and his best friends, the Duke and JP, as they try to make it the Wafflehouse in an effort to spend the night with some cheerleaders. However, due to the massive snow storm this is easier said than done and these three quickly realize sometimes the journey is way more fun than the destination (although the destination is definitely much warmer). Oh, and of course there’s a cute little romance going on as well.

Lastly, is Lauren Myracle’s story, which is the perfect conclusion to the book. Addie is devastated that she’s spending her Christmas alone because she thinks her boyfriend, Jeb, hasn’t forgiven her for the terrible mistake she made. But Addie soon realizes that maybe she hasn’t really been looking at the big picture of what went wrong in their relationship. In an effort to change, Addie tries to step outside herself and care more about the people around her than just her own issues. Also, both couples from the first two stories make an appearance, which is amazingly cute.

Overall, this is the perfect holiday novel to read. Each story is cute, funny, and heartwarming and I’d definitely read it again during the next holiday season.

Borrow or Buy: Buy!

Stars:

5 stars

Favorite Line:

“Christmas is never over,unless you want it to be…Christmas is a state of mind.”

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Book Review: YOLO

Posted on by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews, Books

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*This book is a part of my POPSUGAR 2015 Reading Challenge*

Synopsis from Amazon: 

Through texts and messages, the mega-bestselling, beloved Internet Girls series followed the ups and downs of school for three very different, very close friends. Now it’s freshman year of college for the winsome threesome, and *everything* is different. For one, the best friends are facing their first semester apart. Way, way apart. Maddie’s in California, Zoe’s in Ohio, and Angela’s back in Georgia. And it’s not just the girls who are separated. Zoe’s worried that Doug wants to break up now that they’re at different schools, and Maddie’s boyfriend, Ian, is on the other side of the country.
In the face of change and diverging paths, Maddie’s got a plan to keep the friends close, and it involves embracing the present, making memories, and . . . roller derby! Using of-the-moment technology, Lauren Myracle brings her groundbreaking series into the brave new virtual world of texting and tweets.
I didn’t realize how much I missed the “winsome threesome” until I read through this book in one day. Somehow I found myself being able to relate to each of these girls in some way and it was awesome.
Just as the first three books in the series, the entire book is done in IM (although Lauren Myracle tries to sell it to us as texting). I say it’s still IM because the characters are still using their old screen names. Obviously this is done for the purpose of continuity but I struggle to picture college students using screen names as the names of their contacts in their phone.
Additionally there were multiple times when it was supposed to seem like they were group texting but some one was currently not responding to the group at the time. This was hard to keep track of at times. I wasn’t sure if Maddie was just texting Zoe or Zoe and Angela at some points and vice versa.
Despite these small failings I truly enjoyed this novel. It brought me back into the world of these characters that I loved so much years ago and reminded why I loved them in the first place. Although they’ve changed a little bit, as we all do when we get older, they were still the same characters I knew and loved.
Zoe was still the “good girl” but she let loose a bit and for that I was proud. Angela was still her bubbly, somewhat superficial self, but she was able to let go of the negatives that came with her superficiality (judging people on their physical traits before getting to know them for example). She also found a use for her love of fashion and beauty products, which was really cool.
As for Maddie she continued to struggle to be honest about her feelings and although I think by the end she learned that hiding things from her friends and not being honest with them or herself wasn’t healthy. Hopefully she’ll be able to figure out a way to better handle her emotions instead of bottling them up.
What I loved most about this novel and all the other novels in this series is the trio’s unending love for each other and unbreakable friendship. I think it’s amazing to create bonds like that with people and as the girls realize, it’s these bonds that help them through the tough times.
Myracle does an excellent drop of bringing this trio into the college world while keeping their friendship and separate personalities in check. All three of the girls face their own different challenges at college and in very different ways.
Favorite Line:
and I quote from the Bible: thou shalt not let a sorority girl named Candy dictate anything about your personal lifestyle, or thou shalt turn into a pillar of salt.
Stars: 4 out of 5. I loved it but there were some parts I struggled to find believable.
Borrow or Buy: Buy. I kind of wish I had the whole series to be honest. I’d love to reread them all in order.
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